by george matthews
Bombardier has the contract to build 130 new carriages for the Southern operating company. This company operates on the third rail system between London and the south coast, and has an extensive suburban network in the built up area. It also has a service north of the Thames into the Overhead Line area (to Watford junction).
The contract seems fairly obviously a government consolation prize for not getting the Thameslink contract to build new trains.
The Bombardier factory was formerly the BREL main plant (British Rail Engineering Limited), that designed and built most of British Rail's trains, especially the HST125. Privatising it crippled Britain's rail carriage construction industry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-de ... e-16344487
The contract seems fairly obviously a government consolation prize for not getting the Thameslink contract to build new trains.
The Bombardier factory was formerly the BREL main plant (British Rail Engineering Limited), that designed and built most of British Rail's trains, especially the HST125. Privatising it crippled Britain's rail carriage construction industry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-de ... e-16344487
