Derbyshire-based EP Industries Ltd (www.epindustries.co.uk) has secured a £500,000 investment from the national Rail Supply Growth Fund to enable it to develop a new facility in Alfreton, creating five skilled jobs (and safeguarding 10 existing jobs).

The firm, which specialises in the servicing of a range of road-rail vehicles (RRVs) and pile-drivers, will use the new facility to broad-en its services to include the testing, upgrading and repair of RRVs.

Eddie Pilsworth, EP Industries’ managing director, said: “In order to become a world leader in rail, the UK must make considerable improvements to its supply chain.

“The first step in this journey is ensuring that all those involved in rail maintenance are equipped with the most reliable and efficient machinery available — something that we hope to achieve by incorporating all elements of an RRV’s servicing into a single facility.

“The funding provided by the Rail Supply Growth Fund will help us to save our clients valuable time and resources, as we’ll be able to support them with an end-to-end service, ultimately minimising any disruption to customers caused by poorly tested vehicles breaking down on the rail network.”

The new facility will include replica ground track, an elevated railroad and station crossing rigs, meaning that RRVs will be tested in the same conditions as on the UK’s rail network.

The national Rail Supply Growth Fund is managed by Finance Birmingham and supported by central Government.

It provides loans and grant funding to businesses offering services and products that operate in — or cross over into — the rail industry.