Wales has been selected by Construcciones y Auxiliar de
Ferrocarriles (CAF) as the location for its new Centre of
Excellence for the manufacture of UK rolling stock. The £30m
investment, with significant support from the Welsh Government,
will create 300 highly skilled and well paid jobs.
More than 100 locations in the UK were considered for this major
investment, with the Celtic Business Park in Newport chosen from
one of four potential sites that were short listed.
Welcoming the news today, First Minister said: “Today’s announcement is
a major coup for Wales and a big vote of confidence in our
manufacturing industry. We are, once again, competing and beating
others on the world stage to secure significant investment to
Wales.
“This £30 million investment is a major economic boost that we
hope will kick-start the growth of our rail sector and create
hundreds of highly skilled, very well paid jobs.”
Economy Secretary said: “This significant
investment from CAF and Welsh Government will underpin the
development of the rail sector in Wales and places us at the
heart of an industry with massive growth potential.
“As well as creating 300 high calibre jobs, it also coincides
with our major Welsh Government Metro rail investment in south
east Wales, details of which will be unveiled over the coming
weeks.”
Richard Garner, CAF’s UK Director, said: “CAF is an established
supplier to the UK market, and we now have solid economic basis
for further increasing our footprint in the UK. The establishment
of this facility will serve CAF’s long-term aspirations to
dominate the UK market for many years to come.”
The Welsh Government is supporting the project, which will be the
first centre of its type in Wales. The site will allow for
significant future expansion, providing potential for further
investment and employment in the Newport area.
The new facility will enable the company to assemble, test and
commission new vehicles and have capacity to undertake future
manufacturing projects as well as maintenance and servicing
activities.
Notes to Editors
The factory is being designed so that CAF can build a range of
different trains, including diesel multiple units (DMUs),
electric multiple units (EMUs), trams and high speed trains.
CAF in the United Kingdom
In the last few years, CAF has had a significant presence in the
United Kingdom with a broad range of vehicles and services. In
the 90s, the company supplied units for the Northern Spirit line
in the same region, as well as for the Heathrow Express link from
the airport to Paddington Station in London.
More recently in 2002 and subsequently in 2008, projects have
been developed for NIR (Northern Ireland Railways) which include
both the manufacture of the trains and the operation of
maintenance services for 15 years. In the tram family, CAF has
supplied trams to the cities of Edinburgh and Birmingham. Last
year CAF signed a contract for the supply of the Caledonian
Sleeper cars that will provide service between London and
Glasgow- Edinburgh, with planned delivery in 2018.
CAF 2016
In January 2016 Eversholt Rail Group and Arriva Rail North
awarded CAF a contract to supply 31 three-car and 12 four-car
Civity electric multiple-units and 25 two-car and 30 three-car
DMUs for use on the Northern franchise. This was followed in May
by contracts from Eversholt and Beacon Rail to supply 12 five-car
EMUs and 66 push-pull coaches for FirstGroup’s TransPennine
Express franchise, with a separate agreement covering technical
support and spare parts management until 2023.
CAF 2017
The UK is currently one of the most active and competitive
railway markets on the continent where, over the coming months
and years, various railway franchise renewal processes are
envisaged, and CAF has plans to be a player in them.
CAF is currently prequalified for the London Underground bidding
process, and has confirmed interest also in next tender for the
HS2 high-speed line that, in the first phase, will link the
cities of London and Birmingham in one of the biggest
infrastructure projects planned in Europe over the coming years.
CAF Group
The Group is a provider of turnkey solutions which means it is
able to offer complete transport systems, covering every aspect
of a project from initial analysis to the commissioning,
operation and maintenance of the system. The company services
countries, regions and cities with state of the art rolling stock
including modern rail infrastructure and bespoke signalling
solutions.
