Trains that helped to save rail factory unveiled

Ten of the new London Elizabeth line trains have rolled off the production line as part of a deal that to helped to save the UK's largest rail assembly factory.

Alstom, in Derby, revealed the Elizabeth line Class 345 Aventra trains, which sit at the heart of a rolling stock supply chain that supports almost 40 other UK companies.

Alstom secured the £370m contract in 2024, less than three months after starting a redundancy consultation which put 1,300 jobs at risk at its Litchurch Lane factory.

Site managing director Andy Butters said: "We were facing some particularly difficult times but we secured this contract. It's protecting this asset and protecting rolling stock production in the UK.”

The trains will head to London to bring the line’s fleet capacity to about 120,000 people - a greater capacity than Wembley Stadium.

The “transformational” nine-car trains were unveiled in Alstom’s testing laboratory, inside one of the world's largest rolling stock factories, dating back to 1876.

“To see it all come together and to sit here on this completed one, I'm so proud,” said Chloe Turnbull, who worked on the electrical components of the trains.

The company said the fleet was ordered to support both “increasing demand for the hugely popular line and the government's growth agenda.”

The Elizabeth line has become the UK's single busiest railway service, with 850 million passenger journeys since opening in May 2022.

It runs from Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west, to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east, with a service every three or four minutes.

Transport for London also contracted the Derby firm to maintain the trains until 2046, as part of the original deal.

“We've still got over 1,000 people working here and they're all local people, it's so important,” said Turnbull, a process engineer who started as an Alstom apprentice at 22.

Butters said the Elizabeth line contract was “immensely important,” at a time when Alstom admitted they had "no meaningful workload" and the business was "totally unsustainable".

Following the contract announcement, Alstom told the BBC its voluntary redundancy consultation remained open, although no compulsory redundancies had been made.

Two years on, there is a more optimistic mood.

“We are seeing that steady growth and we hope we can continue on that trend and really continue to be a success,” said Butters.

“Hopefully we've got a few more projects on the way, potentially, and I'm hoping to be here until I can retire,” said Turnbull.

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