Bombardier might get £1billion cross rail contract

Bombardier might get £1billion cross rail contractBombardier might be able to bag a lucrative £1billion cross rail contract as the rival German firm Siemens pulled out of the race for the contract.

The British train maker’s bid received a huge boost after the German firm said that it will not be able to provide 600 carriages for the London line. The deal is seen as crucial business contract for the company as it will help in protecting hundreds of jobs. The company is planning to guild 600 carriages at its factory in Derby that employs about 1,600 people.

The withdrawal of Siemens is a major boost for the company, as it had earlier lost a contract to provide trains for the Thameslink rail project. The Department for Transport faced criticism for awarding the Thameslink contract to Siemens as critics said that the trains must be built in the UK and not in Germany.

Japan’s Hitachi and Spain’s CAF are the other bidders for the contract and the Japanese firm has indicated that it will also build the carriages in the UK. Hitachi is building a a plant in Newton Aycliffe, in Durham for building the next generation of intercity trains in the UK. The government is facing pressure to award the contract to a firm that is focused on the UK.