--- title: "UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Alstom's Litchurch Lane Works in Derby; launches new technical education routes" sdDatePublished: "2026-07-29T11:20:00Z" source: "https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2026/7/uk-prime-minister-visits-alstoms-litchurch-lane-factory-derby" topics: - name: "politics and government" identifier: "medtop:11000000" - name: "education" identifier: "medtop:05000000" - name: "economy" identifier: "medtop:20000344" - name: "economy, business and finance" identifier: "medtop:04000000" - name: "transport" identifier: "medtop:20000337" - name: "business enterprise" identifier: "medtop:20000349" - name: "labour" identifier: "medtop:09000000" - name: "manufacturing and engineering" identifier: "medtop:20000294" - name: "railway manufacturing" identifier: "medtop:20001166" locations: - "Cairo" - "South Africa" --- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham visits Alstom's Litchurch Lane Works in Derby; launches new technical education routes UK Prime Minister visits Alstom's Litchurch Lane factory in Derby | Alstom UK Prime Minister visits Alstom's Litchurch Lane factory in Derby Facebook (Open in a new tab) Twitter (Open in a new tab) UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham learns torque tightening skills with Alstom apprentice's at the company's National Training Academy at Derby Litchurch Lane Works (Copyright – Alstom UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham; Baggy Shanker MP; Claire Ward; Rt Hon Alan Milburn; and UK Secretary State for Education Lucy Powell meeting Alstom apprentices and graduates at Derby Litchurch Lane Works (Copyright – Alstom Adessia is the next evolution of Alstom's popular Aventra train platform, offering a ‘traction agnostic’ and lightweight ‘go anywhere’ design that will be built in Derby (Copyright – Alstom) UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and UK Secretary State for Education Lucy Powell meeting Alstom apprentices and graduates at Derby Litchurch Lane Works (Copyright – Alstom Facebook (Open in a new tab) Twitter (Open in a new tab) Copy link Press contact United Kingdom & Ireland UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham met around 100 apprentices and graduates in Alstom’s National Training Academy at Derby Litchurch Lane Works, providing the backdrop for changes to the education system Litchurch Lane has built trains for 150 years; without it, the UK would be the only G7 economy unable to design, engineer, build and test trains for its national railway network Alstom's £720 million annual spend with almost 1,300 British suppliers shows how rail procurement can be a core driver of reindustrialising Britain, supporting skills, jobs and economic growth across the country 28 July 2026 – Alstom, global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, hosted Prime Minister Andy Burnham in his second week in office at its Litchurch Lane Works factory in Derby, where he announced the launch of new technical education routes. "We were delighted to welcome the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet to Derby Litchurch Lane Works to meet apprentices and graduates and showcase the future of UK train building, based in the city that will be home to Great British Railways." During the visit, the Prime Minister met around 100 current and former apprentices and graduates from Alstom and its supply chain partners, including Derby-born Chloe Turnbull and Walsall-born Yasha Sidiqui, and witnessed the specialist training provided to engineers and technicians across its 36 UK sites. Alstom’s National Training Academy is supporting the company’s current cohort of 120 trainee apprentices and graduates. Chloe changed jobs aged 23 and went from working in a pharmacy to joining Alstom as an apprentice, following her family before her, and is now a Process Engineer overseeing the manufacture of ten Class 345 Aventra trains for London’s Elizabeth line. Meanwhile, Yasha was named Graduate of the Year at the 2025 RailStaff Awards. She completed graduate placements across the site’s Engineering teams and is now a Product Cost Engineer, a role that sees her exploring ideas at the design stage of new trains to deliver ever greater whole-life value for trains that can operate on the network for 30-35 years. Chloe said: “It was such a privilege speaking with the Prime Minister. He was interested in everything he saw and wished everyone the very best in their careers.” Yasha added: “I am only a few years into my career, but it has already been so rewarding. Rail can be overlooked as a career choice; my hope is that the Prime Minister’s support for rail helps change that.” Careers like Chloe's and Yasha's are built across Alstom's UK network. From Crewe, where bogies and traction motors are overhauled, to Sutton-in-Ashfield, which designs and manufactures passenger and onboard systems, and Plymouth, which exports signalling technology across six continents, Alstom supports over 60 per cent of the country’s operational train fleets. Alstom also used the visit to show the Prime Minister how the company already backs British industry. Derby Litchurch Lane Works as seen from above during 2026's recording-breaking railway festival, The Greatest Gathering (Copyright – Alstom) Apprentices and graduates from Alstom and its supply chain partners in Alstom's National Training Academy at Derby Litchurch Lane Works (Copyright – Alstom UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham; Baggy Shanker MP, Derby South; UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden; and UK Secretary State for Education Lucy Powell (Copyright – Alstom “We were delighted to welcome the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet to Derby Litchurch Lane Works to meet apprentices and graduates and showcase the future of UK train building, based in the city that will be home to Great British Railways,” said Rob Whyte, Managing Director UK at Alstom. He added: “Rail can be a core driver of reindustrialising Britain. Last year alone we spent over £720 million with almost 1,300 British businesses, supporting close to 11,000 British jobs in our supply chain. Plus, we are bolstering Britain's railway with £35 million of our own investment in Adessia, our new generation train, designed and engineered at Alstom in Derby to support GBR in achieving its objectives.” “The Prime Minister plans to use public procurement to back British industry, and rail shows how that can deliver skills, jobs and economic growth at every level of the supply chain, in every part of the country.” Alstom’s contribution to the UK over the last year includes: Directly employing nearly 4,900 staff across 36 sites Nearly 11,000 jobs supported across the country through its supply chain Supporting close to £1 billion in GDP Over £720 million spent with almost 1,300 British-based suppliers 33 per cent of this spend with UK-based SMEs Around £100 million exported by UK suppliers to Alstom entities in 37 countries £191.5 million of social value delivery The Prime Minister’s visit came almost a year to the day since Litchurch Lane hosted The Greatest Gathering , a landmark festival and the centrepiece of last year’s nationwide Railway 200 campaign, commemorating 200 years of the modern passenger railway since the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825. Over three days, more than 40,000 visitors from around the world saw over 140 historic and modern locomotives and carriages – the world’s largest-ever gathering of rolling stock and rail-related exhibits. About Derby Litchurch Lane Work s Derby Litchurch Lane Works is Alstom’s largest global facility, and the UK’s only train factory able to design, engineer, build and test trains for domestic and export markets. Without it, the UK would be the only G7 economy unable to design, engineer, build and test trains for its national railway network. The site delivered more than 2,660 Aventra carriages for UK train operators between 2017 and 2024. It is currently manufacturing ten additional trains for London’s Elizabeth line, supported by around 40 British suppliers, and is refurbishing CrossCountry’s Voyager train fleet, as part of a £60 million contract. Following Aventra’s success, Litchurch Lane is now a Centre of Excellence and Alstom’s global hub for the new-generation Adessia train platform. In 2024, Derby exported the 68th and final monorail train to Cairo under a £2.3 billion UK Export Finance-backed order. These were the first trains exported by a British factory since 2008, when Derby last shipped rolling stock abroad, for South Africa’s Gautrain network. A three-year research programme and a £35 million investment culminated in the development of Adessia for the UK – the next evolution of the Aventra train platform, proven at scale in London and across the UK, with fleets already delivering over 18 billion passenger miles. Adessia’s ‘traction agnostic’ and lightweight ‘go anywhere’ design delivers capacity requirements while reducing whole-life cost. Adessia is a train with accessibility built in, enabling unassisted boarding at 85% of existing station platforms due to level boarding at every door along the full length of the train – reducing the additional investment needed to adapt platform heights. Alstom™ and Adessia™ are protected trademarks of the Alstom Group. UK & Ireland Impact Report Alstom in the UK and Ireland (Open in a new tab) Managing Director UK at Alstom