SIEMENS DIRECTOR OF LOCALISATION FINBARR DOWLING TALKS TO ANDY RODEN ABOUT THE COMPANY’S PLANS FOR ITS TRAIN FACTORY BEING BUILT AT GOOLE
There is a tangible sense of excitement around Goole, where Siemens is constructing a new train factory. The first trains off the line will be from the order for 94 trains for London Underground’s Piccadilly Line, a £1.5 billion contract.
Despite torrential hail when we spoke, Director of Localisation Finbarr Dowling was unable to contain his enthusiasm for a £200 million project set to offer much more than train building.
Construction started last year, and with stringent Covid safety protocols in place, steelwork is now 90% complete, with cladding of the structure at the halfway mark. Three Class 332 carriages made redundant from Heathrow Express duties are now on site (they arrived in March), and a memorandum of understanding signed with the University of Birmingham in April will set the stage for a major innovation hub. It is fair to say there is a lot happening in what is claimed to be Britain’s largest inland port.
Mr Dowling explains that Siemens has a very long presence in the UK going back to Victorian times, and that by organic growth and acquisition (such …