New £14m rail facility for town famous for its rail heritage

Network Rail has opened a £14m depot in Doncaster which its says will bring highly skilled teams across the borough together and help to boost the economy in the town which is famous for its rail heritage.

The facility, named Mallard House, which is close to Doncaster station, will house 600 workers with Network rail stating the will enable teams to “work more collaboratively on projects to maintain and improve the railway”.

Network Rail engineers carried out work to demolish the older buildings on the site and build new, modern facilities, with initial works taking place in 2015. However as a result of Covid-19 the decision has been made for some of the smaller buildings previously designated for demolition to be kept. This will enable workers to follow current social distancing guidelines and provide extra space.

Speaking at the opening, Rob McIntosh, managing director for Network Rail’s Eastern Region, said: “It was important for us to develop this modern £14million depot in Doncaster to celebrate the strong railway history in the town.

“Doncaster is already home to the Flying Scotsman and the National College for High Speed Rail, and this state-of-the-art facility at Marshgate will enhance both the vital work that our teams are doing in the area and the future of the railway.

“It will bring workers from depots across the area together, so that they can work collaboratively to maintain and improve the railway in the region.”

The launch of the site is positive for Doncaster and its rail industry, which was last month struct by news that 450 jobs were to go at Webtec rail’s site in the town.

Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail added: “I genuinely believe that with the quality of the people we have here and these new facilities to support them, we have a fantastic future as well.”