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Yellow rail relocates to iconic derby site in major boost for UK rail sector

Posted: 12 June 2025 | | No comments yet

Yellow Rail’s move to Derby’s historic Litchurch Lane Works will expand operations, create new jobs, and strengthen Britain’s rail manufacturing legacy.

Yellow Rail

Credit: Yellow Rail

Specialist rail engineering company Yellow Rail is relocating to the historic Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, marking a major step in its growth and reinforcing the city’s leading role in UK rail.

The move, to the site known for its longstanding rail manufacturing history, will more than double Yellow Rail’s current freight wagon and bogie overhaul space. The new base allows the firm to bring its remote field services on-site and will create around 25 new roles.

“This is a transformative moment for Yellow Rail,” said Paul Cunningham, Managing Director. “Relocating to Litchurch Lane not only gives us the vital space we need to expand our growing business, but it also allows us to work more closely with Alstom and other industry partners.”

Yellow Rail, part of the Buckland Rail group, joins Alstom at the Derby Litchurch Lane Works, the only UK site that designs, builds, and tests trains for both domestic and export markets. The site, opened in 1876, is central to Derby’s rail legacy, with the city producing rolling stock since 1839.

Andy Butters, Managing Director of Derby Litchurch Lane Works at Alstom, welcomed the move: “This collaboration is a testament to the strength of our city’s rail ecosystem… and a first step to bringing Great British Railway’s plans for Rail Campus Derby to fruition.”

Derby, which employs over 11,000 people in the rail sector, was chosen in 2022 as the future home of Great British Railways. The Rail Campus Derby initiative aims to co-locate sector businesses and drive innovation.

Baggy Shanker, Labour MP for Derby South, called the move “a fantastic boost for Derby” and a “clear vote of confidence in our city’s rail industry.”

Yellow Rail will fully transition to Litchurch Lane by September 2025, coinciding with The Greatest Gathering, a major event at the site celebrating 200 years of railway history.

 

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