Prime Minister visits Litchurch Lane to showcase skills and manufacturing
The Prime Minister paid a visit to Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works in Derby in his second week in office to see the company’s training provision and to announce the launch of new technical education routes. The trip brought senior government attention to the city’s rail manufacturing base and to the role of apprenticeships in sustaining the local workforce.
During the visit, the Prime Minister met around 100 current and former apprentices and graduates from Alstom and its supply-chain partners at the Derby site. The company used the occasion to demonstrate specialist training delivered through its National Training Academy and to underline how such programmes feed into production across the UK.
Local careers on show
Among those who spoke with the Prime Minister were Derby-born Chloe Turnbull and graduate award-winner Yasha Sidiqui. Chloe joined Alstom as an apprentice at age 23 after leaving a different sector and now works as a Process Engineer overseeing the manufacture of ten Class 345 Aventra trains for London’s Elizabeth line. Yasha, who was named Graduate of the Year at the 2025 RailStaff Awards, is now a Product Cost Engineer and has completed placements across engineering teams at the site.
“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.”
“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.”
Alstom’s National Training Academy currently supports a cohort of 120 trainee apprentices and graduates, showing the firm’s commitment to developing local skills. The company also highlighted the breadth of its UK operations, noting work carried out at 36 sites across Britain.
Wider significance for Derby and the UK rail sector
The firm told visitors that it supports more than 60% of the country’s operational train fleets, a point intended to reinforce the national importance of the Derby workforce and supply chain. Alstom described its facilities ranging from bogie and traction motor overhaul in Crewe to passenger systems production in Sutton-in-Ashfield, and signalling exports from Plymouth.
The Prime Minister’s appearance at the Litchurch Lane factory also served to publicly link government policy on technical education with an employer that recruits and trains locally. For Derby, where rail manufacturing has long formed a significant part of the city’s industrial identity, the visit emphasised both current jobs and potential pathways for young people considering careers in engineering and rail.
- Meetings: Around 100 apprentices and graduates taken through training demonstrations.
- Training: National Training Academy supporting 120 trainees.
- Scale: Alstom operates across 36 UK sites and supports over 60% of operational trains in the country.
Those figures were used to underline how investment in apprenticeships and technical education links directly to production on the factory floor and to long-term maintenance of rolling stock. Alstom also highlighted the expected in-service lifespans for its products, saying trains are designed to operate for roughly 30–35 years, which emphasises the value of whole-life thinking in design and procurement.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Trainees supported by the Academy | 120 |
| Alstom UK sites | 36 |
| Share of UK operational fleets supported | 60% |
| Class 345 trains at Litchurch Lane | 10 |
| Intended in-service life of trains | 30–35 years |
For Derby’s residents and workers the visit reinforced the city’s continuing role as a centre of rail engineering skills. The announcements around new technical education routes are likely to be of particular interest to local schools, colleges and young people exploring vocational options connected to manufacturing and transport.
Alstom said it was pleased to host the Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet at Litchurch Lane to meet apprentices, graduates and staff and to demonstrate the company’s training and manufacturing capabilities.
