CORUS announced on February 17 that rail production will be transferred from its Workington plant to Scunthorpe steelworks by November 2006.
The steelmaker is to spend £130m at Scunthorpe, creating a rail production facility at the existing section mill, as well as an on-site service centre offering rail in lengths of up to 120m. A casting machine will replace the plant’s existing caster and intermediate rolling mill, and the rod and section mills will be modernised. The first contracts for the work will be placed this month, and the programme will be completed in August 2007.
The Workington rail facility currently employs 256 people, and 161 jobs will be lost at Scunthorpe.
