End of the line for train jobs?

Times have changed in the borough with much of its heavy industry being shunted into the sidings and replaced by a new generation of hi-tech commerce.

But Eastleigh is still affectionately known as the "railway town" because its roots were founded in the industry.

The loss of railway jobs would be the latest manufacturing blow to the town which, only a few months ago, was hit with the bombshell news that the Mr Kipling cake-making factory - also synonymous with the Hampshire town - would shut at the end of next year with the loss of 423 jobs.

A crisis meeting between French-owned Alstom and major unions was due to be held in Rugby, Warwickshire, today in a bid to thrash out a cost-cutting plan acceptable to both sides, with the company's Glasgow, Preston, Wolverton and Eastleigh sites under the microscope.

But there are fears that the Eastleigh railway depot could be closed or mothballed by the debt-laden engineering giant.

Eastleigh MP David Chidgey said: "My concern for workers at Alstom has been growing for some time, given the perilous position that the international company has been in for many months.

"Whatever decisions are made, it is vital that the future opportunities for the skilled workforce are to the fore.

"The Alstom site is an immensely valuable industrial asset to Eastleigh and our region, it must not be allowed to stagnate."

Mr Chidgey said he would be pressing for the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to be involved "at an early stage" in any discussions on the future of the site.

Members of the public quizzed in the town centre could hardly believe that Eastleigh's long association with the industry could be about to come to an end.

Sixty-two-year-old Pam Wallace, from Allbrook, said: "It would be devastating. The railway works were what started Eastleigh."

Meanwhile, Eastleigh town centre manager Dennis Chandler said that although any large loss of jobs would be a setback, Eastleigh's employment base was so diverse and the unemployment rate so low that he hoped people could find other jobs quickly.

He said: "I don't think there would be a massive impact on the town. I'm quite sure it would recover."

Borough council leader Keith House said it would be a "very sad day" for Eastleigh if it lost the last major manufacturing connection with the railway industry.

"Given the town's history, growing up from the railway industry, I think it would be a severe blow to the whole community to lose the railway works."

But he added: "At the same time we have to understand that the industry has changed quite dramatically over the last ten to 20 years and many people have seen this as the inevitable conclusion."

If the worst came to the worst, the council leader said Eastleigh had a very strong record of working with employers, employment agencies and training partners to place people and make sure their skills could be used elsewhere.

"I have every confidence that we will be able to manage that process again successfully, though we don't want to have to go through it."

Cllr House said the council had identified the railway works and surrounding land - including the proposed northern business park at the airport - as one of southern Hampshire's key employment sites for the next 20 to 30 years.

Bringing it into effective use - which meant providing the Chickenhall Link southern bypass of the town - was vital to success of not only Eastleigh but also Southampton.

But the council leader added: "The last thing Eastleigh wants is to lose the railway industry."

Eastleigh council Labour group leader and ex-railway works employee, councillor Peter Luffman, confirmed he had been told that Alstom was staging a review of all sites in the UK and had also heard the company was considering mothballing the Eastleigh works while retaining a skeleton staff.

He said: "One of the main issues is that they have a contract that runs until July and it is quite a hefty penalty for breaking that contract.

"Even if they did decide on closing it down, or major redundancies, it wouldn't be until later in the year.

"I think that with Alstom we seem to have been going from pillar to post for quite a lot of years.

"It is one problem after another, it has not run smoothly.

"Although the works has a good reputation on the railway network, the company hasn't, and that is difficult for the workers."

Cllr Luffman added: "There has been an awful lot of talk about the works for quite a considerable amount of time. It has been an on-going situation for the lads.

"It will be interesting to see precisely what comes out of this meeting.

"It will also be interesting to see if it is the same redundancy package they have had in the past."

If the railway works were to close, Cllr Luffman said part of Eastleigh's heritage would die.

"The Pirelli site is three-quarters of the way gone and it was the likes of Pirelli, Caustons and the railway works that were the history of Eastleigh."

Yesterday Alstom workers were mostly remaining silent, although one said: "There are lots of rumours flying around, but nothing has been substantiated yet."

Asked if he had heard that the works could be closing, he replied: "No."