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Scotland could welcome back train building for first time in decades

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mcmad

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Its alarming how many people have a complete lack of knowledge about the country they live in.
I took the point Mikey was making (if you'd quoted the whole sentence) as remote in the sense of at a distance from their predominantly Spanish supply chain rather than remote within Scotland as you are implying.
 
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GusB

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Its alarming how many people have a complete lack of knowledge about the country they live in.
Indeed, "Remote" works both ways. London is remote from here :)
If that is the case, then they had better get used to designing more than just multiple units. Locomotives and carriages come to mind amongst other rail vehicular particulars.
You have to have a bit more to offer potential customers than just one or 2 products.
They do have more than one or two products to offer customers:
https://www.talgo.com/en/rolling-stock/products/
Locomotives (power heads) and passenger cars are part of their range.
 

Mikey C

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I took the point Mikey was making (if you'd quoted the whole sentence) as remote in the sense of at a distance from their predominantly Spanish supply chain rather than remote within Scotland as you are implying.

Correct!

To supply ANY UK plant from their predominantly Spanish supply chain and then export from the UK would be adding in a significant level of cost and complexity to just exporting from Spain in the first place.
 

Photohunter71

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Indeed, "Remote" works both ways. London is remote from here :)

They do have more than one or two products to offer customers:
https://www.talgo.com/en/rolling-stock/products/
Locomotives (power heads) and passenger cars are part of their range.

Thanks for the link, fair enough, but they'll need more than just one type of locomotive and offer diesel and electro-diesel as well as purely multi-voltage traction packages. It's a start however.
 

Andy25

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Its alarming how many people have a complete lack of knowledge about the country they live in.
Scotlands all just grass apart from Glasgow and Edinburgh isn't it?

I think many OEMs mistakenly think local industry expertise can just switch to the railway and build quality rolling stock. Hitachi are proof this isn't the case, and CAF will be the next.
 

Esker-pades

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Scotlands all just grass apart from Glasgow and Edinburgh isn't it?

I think many OEMs mistakenly think local industry expertise can just switch to the railway and build quality rolling stock. Hitachi are proof this isn't the case, and CAF will be the next.
Yes. Grass saturated with Irn Bru (sarcasm note).
 

Hackneyite

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Better to think of Scotland as having a fairly dense population of 3million or so in it's well-connected central belt, with two or three large cities outwith it ! Longannet is very accessible!
 

och aye

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The Scottish Government have outlined intentions for a Rail Research Hub to be established at Longannet. Could all be pie in the sky though.

The last paragraph is of more interest though:

Spanish firm TALGO are set to build a train manufacturing plant at Longannet with 1,000 direct jobs to be created.

They told the Press back in March that its timescale for building the site is out of their hands and will depend on securing a tender and when their client would then wish to proceed.

Talgo is currently on the shortlist to provide trains for the HS2 railway project, a contract worth £2.7 billion.

It is one of a number of projects around the world that Talgo are pursuing currently.

Once a bid has been accepted, work will begin on building their Longannet train plant.

 

mcmad

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It's old news. Talgo announced that around the same time as they declared they were bidding for the HS2 contract. No HS2 contract, no plant and as they are the outsiders its unlikely the plant will ever happen
 

Chester1

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It's old news. Talgo announced that around the same time as they declared they were bidding for the HS2 contract. No HS2 contract, no plant and as they are the outsiders its unlikely the plant will ever happen

Research and Development centre in Chesterfield going ahead regardless of contracts, with about 350 jobs being created. Sounds like they will try to poach some Bombardier staff from Derby. Talgo have a shot at HS2 contract but I wouldn't bet on the factory being built.
 

Mikey C

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Research and Development centre in Chesterfield going ahead regardless of contracts, with about 350 jobs being created. Sounds like they will try to poach some Bombardier staff from Derby. Talgo have a shot at HS2 contract but I wouldn't bet on the factory being built.
Really surprised they're going ahead with that even if they don't win the HS2 contract, as I can't see any other contracts they'd in the UK in the next 10 years and I don't see how having a UK presence would help Talgo export to other markets
 

Class 170101

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It's old news. Talgo announced that around the same time as they declared they were bidding for the HS2 contract. No HS2 contract, no plant and as they are the outsiders its unlikely the plant will ever happen

Presumably the trains will have to be shipped abroad for testing anyway as we have minimal testing facilities anyway.
 

Snow1964

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It’s a modern International strategy

Find areas with development grants (or tax rebates) etc
Get local financial help to build it

Use new location to squeeze expensive labour costs in another country by threatening to move production

Dont worry if only have one contract, the expensive machine tools, jigs, jacks etc can be unbolted from floor and moved elsewhere if needed.

Scottish Labour is cheap, and places like Rosyth should mean skilled labour available. Also Longannet already has ship access.

Chesterfield is close enough to poach (or get staff already surplus) from Derby.

Simple Strategy which makes easy profit, not done because UK is fun place to build trains
 

InOban

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I think that the ship access is key (and may also apply to the new Siemens factory). Talgo HQ is near Madrid. If you want to export large items around the world, build them next the sea.
 
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