Siemens Mobility has inaugurated its £6 million Multi-Functional Centre. The new facility strengthens the company’s ability to carry out key upgrades and modification work on passenger trains and brings new employment opportunities to the region. With this development, Siemens Mobility further underscores its wider push toward economic growth, innovation within the rail sector and improved passenger experiences.
During the opening ceremony, Lucy Rigby KC MP for Northampton North said:“It was a privilege to officially open Siemens Mobility’s state-of-the-art Multi-Functional Centre and meet the highly skilled team working to enhance passenger journeys. It’s fantastic to see how Siemens Mobility’s local investment is fostering economic growth, creating new jobs and developing skills right here in Northampton.”
The site will focus on expanding Siemens Mobility’s capability to refurbish and upgrade the UK passenger train fleet, taking on interior improvements such as redesigned seating, enhanced toilets, new luggage stacks and updated charging ports. Its first assignment will involve work on East Midland Railway’s Class 360s, a refurbishment effort intended to elevate comfort levels and lift the overall passenger journey.
The investment also introduces a mobile team that can travel across the country to carry out technical work on fleets. This unit has already delivered a first-in-class installation on a third-party fleet, equipping trains with Siemens Mobility’s Variable Rate Sanding technology to support braking performance in slippery conditions. The next mobile programme will be the upgrade of train data recorders (OTDR), a step aimed at bringing mobile connectivity to third party fleets and helping to enhance reliability and availability.
In addition to the operational elements, Siemens Mobility reports that construction of the Multi-Functional Centre has produced a 17% net gain in biodiversity, aligning with its DEGREE sustainability framework. The new facility adds to Siemens Mobility’s broader UK investment, which totals up to £340 million in recent years. This includes up to £240m at its Rail Village in Goole, Yorkshire, where work on the next generation of Piccadilly line trains for Transport for London is underway, as well as the planned assembly of Britain’s battery bi-mode trains. A further £100 million commitment has been directed to Chippenham, Wiltshire, where the company’s Rail Technology Centre is being developed. Siemens Mobility has also expanded its footprint through new distribution and logistics hubs in Kettering and Goole, established to localise material supply for fleets and reduce road miles linked to logistics.
