UNION leaders expect train-maker Bombardier to announce today that its Derby factory will stay open.

Workers have been summoned to a series of meetings at which unions believe staff will be told that the Litchurch Lane plant has enough work to continue.

The future of the factory has been in doubt since the firm missed out on a £1.4 billion rail contract.

But hopes for the immediate future have been raised after the company was selected for a £188 million Southern Railway contract and the Government signalled it is also keen to move ahead with Bombardier on a project worth £127 million to upgrade existing Voyager trains.

Bombardier has been reviewing the future of its entire UK operation since the firm missed out to German firm Siemens on the deal to supply trains for the Thameslink scheme in June and up to 1,400 redundancies were announced. About 1,000 of those workers have already left.

The firm was staying tight-lipped about the briefings planned for staff but unions believe that bosses have been persuaded of the case for retaining a design and engineering operation in the UK.

Mark Young, regional officer for the Unite union, said he expected the briefings to contain good news for the 1,600 workers who remain at the Litchurch Lane site.

He said: “We believe these briefings have been called to tell the workforce the Litchurch Lane site is safe – I cannot imagine for what other reason Bombardier will have called them.

“We are expecting it to be good news for the workforce and that the firm has decided to stay.

“This is good news for the workers – but it doesn’t mean we will be letting up in our campaign to get the Thameslink decision overturned and secure the long-term future of the site.”

City holds its breath as staff at train-maker summoned to key briefings

Bombardier workers are to attend briefings today where unions expect them to be told that its Litchurch Lane factory has been saved. Robin Johnson looks at why bosses may decide to keep Derby open.

Over the past eight months Bombardier workers have been called to numerous meetings to be told about jobs being lost at the firm.

But today they hope to hear better news from the management at Litchurch Lane when they gather for a series of employee briefings.

Unions expect that this morning will finally see an end to the months of speculation over the fate of the factory and its workers.

Ever since the train-maker missed out on a £1.4 billion Government contract back in June, a question mark has hung over Litchurch Lane.

Shortly after missing out on the Thameslink deal, which was awarded to German rival Siemens, Bombardier announced 1,400 job losses in the city and launched a review of its UK operations.

But hopes have grown over recent weeks that the firm could be persuaded to keep open Litchurch Lane.

While Bombardier has confirmed nothing to preempt what will be said in today’s meetings, a number of factors may have convinced bosses that the factory is worth keeping.

In recent months there has been a growing sense in the city that Bombardier will stay – particularly after the plant secured a £188 million contract to supply carriages to Southern Railway.

Hopes were also raised when the Derby Telegraph revealed that Bombardier had started recruiting again for the site. Last month the firm started advertising around 50 jobs.

A further cause for optimism was Transport Secretary Justine Greening’s enthusiasm to push ahead with another contract for which Bombardier is in the frame – the eVoyager project.

The Department for Transport described the project, which involves converting a fleet of 35 existing diesel-powered Arriva Cross Country Voyager train to hybrid electric power, as “viable”.

The DfT is now working closely with Bombardier to cost up the deal, which is expected to be worth around £127 million. A decision on whether Bombardier itself will carry out the work is expected soon.

John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, which has supported the campaign to persuade Bombardier to stay in the city, said: “From the moment the Thameslink decision was announced we have lived with the fear that the Bombardier review would result in the firm taking manufacturing out of the UK forever at the cost of thousands of jobs locally and billions of pounds to the national economy.

“When we went to Berlin to lobby Bombardier management it was clear that something radical would need to happen to convince them to stay.

“Everyone played their part – the workers at Bombardier, the politicians who worked behind the scenes, the public who came out in force to support the campaign.”

The Derby Telegraph has helped lead the campaign to save Litchurch Lane, with the factory’s plight featuring in its columns every day since the Thameslink decision was announced on June 16.

Editor Steve Hall said: “If the union’s expectations prove to be correct, this could be a monumental day for Derby.

“Train-building runs in our city’s DNA and the fact that it would continue here would be a massive victory for the thousands of people who have shown their support for Bombardier since the dark days of last June.”

Derby North MP Chris Williamson said: “I’d be delighted if Bombardier announces it is staying in Derby. That said, I’m still convinced that the long-term future of the factory looks bleak if it doesn’t manage to secure more work.

“If the firm is staying then it buys us more time to press the Government into awarding Bombardier other work.”

Some industry experts think there is potential for the firm to secure work away from the major Thameslink and Crossrail deals.

They believe it could potentially carry out further conversion work on Voyager trains operated by other rail companies such as Virgin West Coast and Derby operator East Midlands Trains.

Both train operators worked with Bombardier on a feasibility study into converting diesel trains to hybrids, which was presented to the DfT in the autumn.

Sim Harris, editor of Rail News, said: “I believe, in the long run, it would save the Government around 20% of the total costs if it funded the conversion of the entire Voyager fleet in one go. It doesn’t make much sense to convert just over a third of them.”

A DfT spokesman said: “We have undertaken business case work considering the prospect of modifying some of the diesel Voyager fleet to be run on electricity against the department’s plans for electrification of the railways and have decided that eVoyager appears to be a viable proposition.

“We are now working with Bombardier, Arriva Cross Country and Voyager Leasing on more detailed technical work and firm pricing for the eVoyager, so that a decision on the project can be made.”

Such deals would help Bombardier maintain a UK presence while it bids for the next major government contract, which is Crossrail.

But concerns remain that the train-maker could face the same uphill battle to win that deal, valued at around £1 billion, as with Thameslink.

The fear is that Crossrail will use the same financing model as with Thameslink, with about 70% of the cash raised from a private finance initiative. It is thought that Siemens’ financial capability was a significant factor in it winning Thameslink.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “Britain’s last train-maker needs to win a significant contract for it to have the long-term future it deserves.”

The Government has said it is currently working on new procurement guidelines that would see UK bidders given a fairer chance of winning UK work. The hope is that these guidelines will be applied in time for Crossrail.

But so far, the DfT has been unable to offer guarantees that this will be the case.

Nine key moments in Bombardier campaign

JULY 1: A delegation of politicians and business leaders from Derby – including Derby Telegraph editor Steve Hall – travel to Berlin for talks with the president of Bombardier’s passengers division, Stephane Rambaud-Measson. At the meeting, Mr Rambaud-Measson is unable to give an assurance that the firm’s Derby plant will remain open, warning that “restructuring” would be required.

JULY 19: Derby North MP Chris Williamson hands over a 50,166-name petition to Parliament, which calls for the Thameslink decision to be reversed. About 7,500 of those names were from petition forms printed in the Derby Telegraph.

JULY 23: Around 10,000 people take to the streets of Derby for a march and rally in support of Bombardier. Union leaders, politicians from all parties, business leaders, Bombardier management and workers march side by side and are applauded by the onlooking public. The march culminates in a rally on Cathedral Green, addressed by MPs and union leaders.

AUGUST 6: Derby County joins the fight to save Bombardier jobs with players wearing T-shirts in support of the Litchurch Lane workers in the warm up before a home match against Birmingham City. Children of Bombardier staff are match-day mascots and a banner is unveiled in support of the campaign. Both Derby and Birmingham fans give the Bombardier workers a standing ovation. Meanwhile, an e-petition is launched on 10 Downing Street’s website calling for a review of Thameslink.

SEPTEMBER 7: A specially chartered train travels from Derby to London, carrying 200 Bombardier workers and campaign supporters. Once in the capital, they stage a protest outside the Houses of Parliament. The protest coincides with a specially convened meeting of the Transport Select Committee, which hears evidence about the awarding of the Thameslink contract.

NOVEMBER 14: Transport Minister Theresa Villiers honours her promise to come to Derby with a visit to Bombardier where she meets senior management, union officials, city and business leaders, including the Derby Telegraph. The Derby delegation emerges from the meeting saying that the immediate future of the Litchurch Lane site rests on the company landing the Southern and eVoyager deals.

DECEMBER 16: The Transport Select Committee announces that it will be asking the National Audit Office to investigate the Government’s Thameslink decision. It calls on the Government to publicly set out its reasons for choosing Siemens and explain the difference in cost between the two bids. The committee also recommends the Government should stop “bundling” the financing and manufacturing elements of contracts together – a factor it concludes had disadvantaged Bombardier in the Thameslink contest.

DECEMBER 24: Justine Greening announces that she is keen to push ahead with the £127 million eVoyager project. She says her department and Bombardier are working together to price up the deal – although stops short of saying whether the Litchurch Lane firm will be awarded the work.

DECEMBER 28: The Department for Transport announces that Bombardier has won the £188 million Southern contract to build 130 Electrostar trains. While welcoming the news, Bombardier said the review of its UK operations would continue. About £80 million of government cash is being put towards the contract.

RELATED ARTICLE: January 6, 2012 Shock figures that reveal `true cost' of giving Siemens Thameslink deal

RELATED ARTICLE: July 23, 2011 Derby stands united as 10,000 join Bombardier rally

RELATED VIDEO: JUly 26, 2011 A city speaks out

RELATED IMAGES: The Bombardier story in pictures