Siemens Mobility unveils plans for new £200mn UK rail factory

Siemens Mobility Limited have revealed the scope of a state-of-the-art rail manufacturing facility it will build in East Yorkshire, UK.

In the latest major milestone for the project, detailed proposals for the industry-leading development at the Goole 36 enterprise zone site have been put forward to East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The planning application provides specifics of the layout, scale, appearance and landscaping for the up to £200mn development, following the granting of outline planning consent in July 2019.

The application seeks approval for 55,000 square metres of manufacturing, assembly, warehouse, testing and ancillary office and welfare buildings, proposed to be delivered in two phases.

The first phase will provide facilities for the production of a new generation of tube trains for the Piccadilly Line under a £1.5bn contract with London Underground Limited, a subsidiary of Transport for London.

Subject to order income, a further proposed phase could enable expansion to service potential future contracts awarded to Siemens Mobility. The proposals have been carefully considered to enable phase one to become operational in isolation while phase two can be delivered in a way that is complementary to the ongoing operations of the original facilities.

Pending approval for the plans, construction is expected to begin by early summer, with the first phase of manufacturing facilities scheduled to become operational in 2023.

SEE ALSO:

Lotus opens new hypercar factory at Hethel base in Norfolk

British EV maker Arrival opens micro factory manufacturing plant

Siemens acquires India's C&S Electric in $296mn deal

Read the latest issue of Manufacturing Global here

The development will create up to 700 jobs, as well as a further 250 during the construction period, with an additional 1,700 potential UK supply chain roles.

Sambit Banerjee, Managing Director, Rolling Stock and Customer Services, for Siemens Mobility Limited, said: “Submission of this detailed planning application is another important milestone in our delivery of a facility which will set a new benchmark for the UK rail industry.

“These plans paint an exciting picture of manufacturing, commissioning and ancillary facilities forming the heart of a pioneering rail village driving digital technology and data-driven innovation that will benefit millions of rail passengers.“

The planning application also sets out extensive proposals for landscaping and support for the natural habitat and wildlife.

The plans include a dedicated part of the site set aside to provide a habitat enhancement area. This will include the thinning of over-dense woodland and scrub areas to encourage ground flora diversity, the creation of an open water wetland area and the introduction of bat and bird nesting boxes.

The landscaping proposals also include the retention of many existing mature trees and the planting of new native mixed woodland and wildflower meadows.

In addition to the proposals for the manufacturing facilities, a separate planning application was submitted to East Riding of Yorkshire Council in December 2019 for an innovation hub which will also form part of the Goole site.

The 3,200 sq m (34,400 sq ft) building is proposed to be the first phase of an innovation cluster known as the Rail Accelerator and Innovation Solutions Hub for Enterprise (RaisE). Siemens Mobility teams supporting the rail manufacturing operations will be based within this building.

The outline planning consent for the overall site allows for further possible detailed planning applications and development as Siemens Mobility‘s rail village vision is realised.

Global engineering consultancy Arup is delivering all aspects of the engineering design for the Goole facilities, supported by architects AHR.

Planning consultants for the project are Montagu Evans while international consultancy and construction company Mace is providing a range of services to support the development.