SPANISH train manufacturer Talgo is to bring 1000 jobs to Fife – but only if it wins a contract for HS2 shuttles.
Based outside Madrid, the multi-national aims to build a 70,000 sq ft factory at Longannet.
However, the plan will be thrown off track if the company fails to secure the contract to supply at least 50 high-speed trains for the line that will connect London and Birmingham.
The investment news comes two years after the closure of the power station that long stood at the site.
Local MSPs Shirley-Anne Somerville of the SNP and Mark Ruskell of the Greens have each branded the announcement, made yesterday, “excellent news”.
And the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which helps ex-mining communities from nearby Kincardine, said it could be “a game-changer for the whole area”.
However, as he welcomed the news, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson cautioned that the deal is not yet done.
He said: “This investment is a significant achievement for Scotland and yet another endorsement of our country’s attractiveness to international investors.
“Should Talgo be successful in its bid to win the contract for HS2 rolling stock, this new factory at Longannet would bring a great number of new jobs to Fife, which would be a welcome boost for the local area.
“However, the full economic impact of such an investment, and the supply chain opportunities it would bring, would be felt right across
Scotland.
He added: “We are committed to working with Talgo and our public and private sector partners to ensure maximum benefit from the opportunity this proposed investment represents.”
It is thought that the former branch line that once ran to the power station may also be reinstated as a result of the development.
If successful, Talgo aims to begin construction in early 2020, also developing an innovation centre at Chesterfield in Derbyshire.
That site had also been considered for the factory.
As well as serving UK networks, its is hoped that its products could also be sold overseas.
Fife won favour after Scottish Enterprise put up an expert team to sway Talgo, whose president Carlos de Palacio has described them as a “credit to Scotland”, with the decision down in part to the area’s “great connectivity”.
He said: “This has been a tremendously challenging mission for Talgo, and I have personally seen excellence in all corners of the UK. It has been a difficult decision to make, as the quality has been so high in so many places.
“The establishment of a manufacturing facility at Longannet is a significant part of Talgo’s future strategy.”
He went on: “Our plans do not end in Scotland. Linked to our ‘all Britain’ strategy, we intend to create opportunity and harness skills across the UK.
“Talgo’s approach keeps more money in the UK economy, and creates more skilled long-term jobs.”
UK director Jon Veitch added: “This is not only an exciting day for Talgo, it is an exciting day for the UK, too.
“There is an engineering renaissance under way, and I want Talgo to be a leading partner.”
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