This from the Honourable Member for Sedgefield yesterday...
The Hitachi trains are bimodal, which means that they can switch from diesel to electric and vice versa when the need arises. Southeastern operates such Hitachi high speed trains, which have an excellent record in the current bad weather. That is a ringing endorsement of the technology and work force.
No Phil. SouthEastern does not.
The Javelins are not bi-modes, they are dual voltage.
And as their current reliability is little better that the Golden Spanner winning BR built EMU's its perhaps not that much to shout about!
Evidently a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...
Not only is Phil Wilson MP technologically challenged, he seems to have a very selective memory when it comes to investment in the North East.
On 21 December he also told the House of Commons:
"Hitachi's investment would be the biggest investment in the north-east of England since Nissan back in the 1980s".
Clearly the small matter of Siemens' £1 billion silicon chip factory on Tyneside skipped his mind.
Here's a reminder, Phil, it was opened by HM the Queen in 1997 and closed two years later, with the loss of 1100 jobs, when the price of the DRAM chips it was set up to make dropped from $50 each to under $5.
Korean competition was blamed.
