smorris@thekmgroup.co.uk

One hundred and fifty five jobs will be axed at a Kent rail maintenance depot when it moves to another site, it was confirmed today.

The site, at Chart Leacon in Ashford, is owned by transport manufacturer Bombardier.

Communications Manager at Bombardier, Heidi Lee said "One hundred and fifty five jobs will be axed because there isn't enough work to sustain the two sites.

"After the move to Ilford in Essex, 10 workers will be left in Ashford.

"They'll be responsible for maintaining the Class 375 Electrostar train units for Southeastern Trains."

She added: "We hope to make the job cuts through voluntary redundancies in the first instance."

RMT union Kent organiser Paul Cox said: "The workers at Chart Leacon are devastated because they're people who love their jobs and love working at that depot and love the business they're in, which is the railway business.

"And I'm devastated for them as well.

"It's a great loss for the town of Ashford. It's a depot that's been there for a very very long time.

"It has a highly skilled workforce and it really is a shame to see that type of work leaving Ashford.

"The men who have been made redundant are personally gutted but I think they're even more hurt that the workshop at the depot isn't going to survive.

"These are dedicated railway people and they would hope that at some time in the future if work picked up again that they would go back.

"There were very few volunteers for redundancy, that's how important that work is to these people and how much they love the work that they do.

"I think it's only two or three and that's a very small number.

"We want Damian Green, MP for Ashford to intervene. We want him to meet with us and to meet with the workforce and keep Chart Leacon as a viable workshop depot for the future.

"We see no logic to what they're doing at the moment."