Rail union RMT today demanded that the Government reverse the decision to award the crucial Thameslink fleet contract to Siemens after it emerged in a series of parliamentary answers to Derby MP Chris Williamson that the Siemens bid was priced in Euros and with the 10% decline in the value of the currency since tendering the cost to the UK taxpayer on the £1.4 billion contract has soared by £140 million.

In their response to Chris Williamson, a member of the RMT Parliamentary Group, the DfT said:

“I can confirm that elements of each of the named rolling stock procurements are priced in foreign currencies, including the Euro, and that up to the point of financial close any fluctuations in the value of the Pound against the Euro have the potential to impact upon the cost of these procurements to Her Majesty’s Government.”

RMT believes that the fluctuation in the Siemens price, added to the social economic cost of the loss of 10,000 jobs at Bombardier in Derby and in the supply chain, means that the case for reversing the original decision is now overwhelming and the delay in signing off the deal presents the Government with a window of opportunity to do just that.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said

"The catalogue of failure behind the betrayal of Bombardier has sunk to a new low with the taxpayer now expected to subsidise Siemens to the tune of £140 million due to the collapse in value of the euro.

"RMT has said for months that the chaos in the financial markets has delayed the sign off of the Thameslink deal and now that we have been proved right it is time for the government to cut the lies and give this vital work to the Derby workforce, who are geared up and ready to go, while there is still time."