RAIL UNION RMT warned today that the Government could be preparing an action replay of the Thameslink stitch-up of Bombardier over the Crossrail contract as it emerged that Transport Secretary Justine Greening has sabotaged a plan that would have potentially saved train building in the nation that gave the railways to the world.

Reports today say that the Government has refused Transport for London permission to raise its debt ceiling to enable it to buy the 60 Crossrail trains directly without going through the loaded and expensive EU-dominated procurement route.

As a consequence, the Crossrail contract will be run on the same lines as the discredited Thamelink deal - loading the dice again in favour of German company Siemens and potentially hammering the final nail into the coffin of UK train building.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“Despite the long public row over the Thameslink stitch- up, and the threat to over 10,000 jobs at Bombardier in Derby and in the supply chain, reports today suggest that the Government are planning an action replay over Crossrail in a move that would kill UK train building once and for all.

It defies belief that this ConDem government - which talks about protecting British manufacturing jobs and apprenticeships - would now follow the same EU-dominated and expensive PFI route over Crossrail in the full knowledge that the dice will be loaded in favour of Siemens.

This kind of stitch up would not happen in any other country in Europe. Siemens can’t even get their act together on Thameslink and that contract has been shunted off into the New Year and the fight for UK train building and thousands of jobs goes on.”