• Swindon & Wiltshire Property
• Thursday November 7 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Plans for £100 million Siemens Mobility factory approved

Engineering firm Siemens Mobility has been given the go-ahead to build a £100 million research & development facility in Chippenham.

Wiltshire Council has granted planning permission for the facility at Southpoint Business Park.

The proposals were backed by Chippenham Council and will safeguard hundreds of jobs in the town.

The state-of-the-art rail infrastructure manufacturing, digital engineering and research & development (R&D) centre will provide parts for the rail industry and will replace the company’s current factory in Chippenham.

All 800 staff will be transferred to the new facility when it opens in 2026.

The current factory, a hub for designing, manufacturing, and delivering signalling and control systems, has played a pivotal role in major projects such as the Elizabeth line, North Wales Coast, Birmingham New Street, and numerous global initiatives.

When the plans were announced in March, Rob Morris, joint CEO of Siemens Mobility in the UK & Ireland said: “This £100 million investment is a strong commitment to Chippenham and our country.

“Siemens Mobility’s Chippenham site, along with our 30 sites across the country, has been transforming rail travel and transport in Britain – and it will continue to do so with cloud-based rail technology connecting the real and the digital worlds, digitalising rail.

“We are very excited to soon start construction of one of the most sophisticated rail factories, digital engineering and R&D sites in the UK, supporting local jobs and skills for the future. There’s a piece of Britain in everything we build.”

The current Siemens factory in Chippenham has a rich history, dating back to its establishment by signalling contractor Evans O’Donnell in 1897.

Over the years, it underwent various transitions, including being acquired by the Westinghouse Brake & Signalling Company, before becoming part of Siemens global network of rail infrastructure production facilities in 2013.