The order for 1,140 'Desiro City' EMU carriages for the Thameslink route was confirmed by the Government on June 27. Siemens, together with Cross London Trains, had been awarded preferred bidder status in June 2011, but it has taken two years of delicate negotiations, not helped by the banking crisis, to bring a financial close to the order. It is the largest single contract the German company has ever won and is expected to create up to 2,000 jobs in the UK supply chain alone, most in component manufacture, construction of depots and subsequent maintenance.
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