Progress Rail Services to close South Queensferry site by end of the year?

Unite claims the closure would see 147 workers lose their jobs, with redundancies starting next month.

The union has made a direct plea to the Scottish and UK Governments to intervene to support the high-quality jobs, stating that closure would be another “massive blow” to Scottish manufacturing and the nation’s domestic rail infrastructure.

Unite industrial officer, Graeme Turnbull, said: “The news that Progress Rail Services is closing its South Queensferry site is a massive blow to Scottish manufacturing.

“Around 150 highly skilled jobs are on the brink of being lost over the coming months, which is why we are calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to immediately initiate discussions with the company and Unite to see what measures could be brought forward to keep the site open.

“It’s depressing news to see a successful UK based manufacturer that has supported this country’s rail infrastructure for over 100 years being faced with closure.

“The loss would mean that the entire UK network would be fully dependant on imported railway components, which would be a further travesty following the closures of Wabtec and the Caley Rail works.”

The South Queensferry facility can produce castings up to five tonnes in weight in a variety of steels from austenitic manganese to Argon Oxygen Decarburisation (AOD) refined stainless steel.

Progress Rail Services acquired the Scottish based manufacturing business in 2011. The company which has manufacturing sites across the UK is facing closure following an indicative decision by Network Rail to award a five-year contract to overseas suppliers.

It employs 450 people throughout the UK.

A spokeswoman for Caterpillar Inc, which owns Progress Rail, insists no formal decision has been made yet on job cuts at South Queensferry.

She said: “Progress Rail is committed to open and fair competition. We have supplied the UK rail industry for more than 160 years with critical track materials.

“Progress Rail was recently notified of Network Rail’s intention to award a significant infrastructure contract to other suppliers. This award constitutes the majority of the volume Progress Rail has historically received from Network Rail. As Network Rail’s largest supplier of track components, Progress Rail is challenging the award and has notified its employees.

“Due to the potential impact of Network Rail’s tender outcome, Progress Rail has opened a collective consultation with employee representatives at each of its UK trackwork locations to discuss possible redundancies and efforts to mitigate potential impacts, although no formal decisions have been made at this time.”