SCOTTISH ministers “have a duty” to renegotiate rolling stock contracts depriving Scotland’s historic Springburn railway depot of work, Labour MP Paul Sweeney will say tonight.

Mr Sweeney, who represents Glasgow North East in the Commons, said official government minutes exclusively obtained by the Morning Star suggested that ministers had not previously been aware that new trains would be maintained by their manufacturers.

The St Rollox railway works in Springburn, Glasgow, are due to close tomorrow. The remaining workforce will rally at the gates of the works, popularly known as the “Caley” because they were built by the Caledonian Railway in 1856, at 11am.

Mr Sweeney asked: “Why didn’t Scottish government think to consider and consult with existing provision in Scotland about the long-term impact on existing overhaul work at Springburn while they were procuring new units and agreeing a deal to lock in new unit overhauls with a supplier?

“That, or they knowingly threw Springburn under a bus in favour of exclusive rights deals with suppliers. Either way, it is bad.

“They now have a duty to renegotiate these contracts to ensure the maintenance work is tied to the Caley site.”

Mr Sweeney added that this could involve a rail manufacturer taking over the Springburn works. 

The government documents, which the Star accessed via a freedom of information request, also show that Scottish government quango Scottish Enterprise commissioned research which backed up bosses’ claims that the site was no longer viable.

On April 23, SNP MSP Michael Matheson, then Scotland’s transport secretary, was briefed ahead of a meeting with Hansteen Holdings, the landlords of the site, which is leased to Gemini Rail Group, a subsidiary of German-owned Mutares.

The briefing, written by a Scottish Enterprise official, said the report commissioned by the quango “underlines that … the decision to close is surprising only in that it was not made sooner.”

Trade unions and politicians have pointed out that losses incurred by Gemini do not separate out the Caley from the group’s wider operations.

The Scottish Enterprise briefing goes on to say: “Whilst separated accounts for Springburn were not made available by Gemini, even excluding some unexplained expenditure apportioned to Springburn within the group, the site was making and forecasting heavy losses and none of the models [for continued use] proved viable.”