Lincoln, UK, 2018-Feb-02
Siemens has announced an £8m investment in a new UK Bogie Service Centre, creating up to 40 new skilled rail technician roles by the end of 2019. This is another milestone in the company’s continuous expansion of its UK rail footprint.
The new Bogie Service Centre will create high-skilled technical jobs, enabling Siemens to deliver high quality and predictable train maintenance to customers. This will ultimately benefit rail passengers UK-wide by reducing the time trains are out of service for overhauls.
The Centre will initially focus on servicing bogies and wheel sets for the latest Siemens trains operating in the UK, including Velaro Eurostar e320 high speed trains and Desiro City trains. Skilled technicians are being recruited and trained in the latest bogie technology, using state-of-the-art equipment.
Construction work on the Bogie Service Centre, which will be co-located on an existing Siemens site in Lincoln, is already underway. The facility will be operational by June 2018, with the Eurostar 1.6 million km overhaul programme scheduled as the first major project. The facility will initially employ around 20 people with employee numbers set to increase to around 40 by the end of 2019.
Vernon Barker, Managing Director for Rail Systems for Siemens in the UK, said:
“We are looking forward to opening our new Bogie Service Centre later this year, enabling us to offer our customers high quality and predicable train maintenance. Today’s announcement demonstrates Siemens’ long-term commitment to the UK rail sector and is a further significant step in our long term plans to grow our already
extensive footprint here.”
Johannes Emmelheinz, Head of Customer Services for Siemens Rolling Stock business globally, said:
“The new UK facility joins our global network of 10 Siemens Rail Service Centres, which are pioneering the most advanced rail servicing techniques using digital technologies. This investment confirms the importance of the UK market to our global rail service business, leading the way in maintenance innovation and ensuring highest availability for rail systems.”
Siemens is already one of the biggest employers in the UK rail sector, with 4,400 employees working in rail and wider transport-related roles. The new facility will complement Siemens’ well established installed base of over 450 trains and eight purpose-built maintenance facilities, plus wider activities in electrification, signalling and train control technologies.
Siemens has been present in the UK for over 170 years and is now a major UK-wide employer. It has around 15,000 UK employees, 600 apprentices and supports a further 56,000 jobs nationwide. 50% of employees are involved in UK manufacturing and engineering across the company’s 14 manufacturing plants and other facilities.
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