A UNION has added its voice to calls to review the contract awarded for new underground trains, after it was revealed that the majority will be built in Austria and not in the UK.

Yesterday, The Northern Echo revealed Siemens will manufacture two-thirds of the 94 Deep Tube trains to serve the London Underground's Piccadilly line in Vienna.

It also emerged that Siemens' new factory in Goole will not be operational until 2023, the year when the first Deep Tube carriages are expected to be delivered.

Last year a joint bid between Newton Aycliffe-based Hitachi and Derby based train company Bombardier, lost out in the bidding process, a decision which has now been strongly condemned by the Unite union and Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson.

Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing Steve Turner said: “These latest developments are deeply concerning. It appears promises made by Siemens to support UK manufacturing and ensure that public money was spent here in the UK are now being broken.

“This is completely unacceptable and I have today joined Phil Wilson MP in calling on the Transport for London and the Mayor of London to immediately review the contract.

“The unsuccessful bid from UK manufacturers Hitachi and Bombardier should now be reassessed and the social and economic benefit of supporting skilled jobs, apprenticeships and communities here in the UK prioritised. Public procurement has a central role to play in supporting UK Plc through investment in manufacturing.

“Both central and local government must bear this in mind when awarding contracts and re-examining this one with Siemens is a first step in ensuring world class UK based manufacturing is centre stage when it comes to spending tax-payers money.”

Mr Wilson has called on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Transport for London to review the decision, claiming they had "undermined their commitment" to UK manufacturing and Siemens had "pulled the wool" over their eye.

The revelations came just days after union bosses warned Hitachi, which employs about 750 permanent staff, was facing an "increasingly concerning" future when current orders for new trains run out next spring as there are currently no new orders in the pipeline.