Agility Trains West (ATW) and Agility Trains East (ATE), together “Agility Trains”, recognise the importance of tackling Modern Slavery in their businesses and supply chains and are committed to a policy of acting ethically in their business dealings and minimising the risk of slavery or human trafficking arising in these areas. This statement describes the ATW and ATE businesses and sets in context their policies and the steps being taken in this regard.

 

ATW and ATE are special purpose companies, established specifically to fund and implement the Department for Transport’s (DfT’s) Intercity Express Programme (IEP), delivering new trains and maintenance facilities into operation across the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line. Both ATW’s and ATE’s annual turnover for 2020-2021 and for the foreseeable future will exceed the £36 million threshold specified in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

 

Under the IEP contracts the design and manufacture of the trains, and provision of the associated depot facilities, has been sub-contracted in its entirety to Hitachi Rail Limited (“Hitachi”), with ATW and ATE providing finance and acting as the central contracting party with the DfT, Hitachi and the relevant Train Operating Company (the ultimate customer for the trains and their services) as well as the banks and shareholders providing the finance. This means that the Agility Trains businesses can be operated with a relatively small workforce.

 

As a result, Hitachi constitutes the majority (>95%) of ATW’s and ATE’s supply chains, with the other organisations with which ATW and ATE primarily engage being banks, shareholders and various professional services companies (lawyers, accountants and a range of technical consultants).

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Policy and Actions to Date

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Given the nature of the Agility Trains organisations, the direct risks associated with modern slavery or human trafficking are assessed to be very limited. Nevertheless, Agility Trains has produced and issued to all staff a policy statement confirming that prevention, detection and reporting of modern slavery and/or human trafficking in any part of ATW’s and ATE’s businesses is the responsibility of everyone working for them and that, should they have any concerns in this respect, they are to be reported to Senior Management.

 

The companies have also sought to ensure that the other entities they engage with in their business dealings, i.e. those referenced above, themselves have appropriate policies and arrangements in place. Agility Trains has prepared a comprehensive list of all external organisations ATW and ATE deal with and has adopted a programme of working through these, checking on their published statements, policies and procedures in this area.

 

This has confirmed that ATW’s and ATE’s largest supplier by far, Hitachi, has in place comprehensive modern slavery policies and prevention procedures, regular updates of which are published on its website. Discussions with, and review of published material from the professional services companies it deals with have confirmed that appropriate arrangements are also in place in these organisations.

 

Agility Trains will now extend this process to ATW’s and ATE’s other (relatively few) business partners and, going forward, will continue to monitor suppliers’ published policies and reports; will include this activity in its annual business assurance programme; and will provide updates in the relevant companies’ annual statements.

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This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes ATW’s and ATE’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ended 31 March 2022. It has been approved by the Boards of Directors for Agility Trains West and Agility Trains East.

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James Le Couilliard

Chief Executive Officer

November 2022

 

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