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Rail giant shortlists St Helens for new factory

Spanish high-speed train manufacturer Talgo has chosen Newton-le-Willows as one of six possible locations for its UK manufacturing operations, with up to a thousand jobs up for grabs.

Spanish high-speed train manufacturer Talgo has chosen Newton-le-Willows as one of six possible locations for its UK manufacturing operations, with up to a thousand jobs up for grabs.

Talgo first unveiled plans to build a new high-speed fleet in the UK in October 2017 as part of a long-term industrial plan, promising a new manufacturing plant and a “fully-localised supply chain” to tap into “the renowned British components industry”.

One year later, the company has cut its shortlist of possible locations down to just six: Newton-le-Willows, Leeds and Chesterfield in England; Hunterston and Longannet in Fife, Scotland; and Mostyn in Flintshire, Wales.

If Newton-le-Willows is successful, it would see train manufacturing “coming home” to the Borough that first tested Robert Stephenson’s famous Rocket steam locomotive in 1829.

Asif Hamid, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said:

“Building a world class rail manufacturing cluster in the City Region is one of our strategic economic priorities. We have outstanding facilities, talent and infrastructure and have been working closely with St. Helens to help Talgo to take advantage of these in Newton-le-Willows and bring rail manufacture back to where it all began.”

Talgo is expected to announce its decision by the end of November 2018.

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