STAFF at rolling stock engineers Railcare are being warned that redundancies are likely after the firm was placed in administration on 31 July. The company had been on the brink of completing a sale of its business to German firm Knorr Bremse, but talks broke down this week.

Railcare occupies sites at Wolverton and Springburn, and employs 500 people. Its recent and current clients include Heathrow Express and Greater Anglia.

Kim Rayment, who is the business restructuring partner at administrators BDO, said: “No redundancies have been made as yet at Railcare, but a number are likely. Numbers cannot be confirmed at this stage, and are likely to be subject to change.

"Our priority today is to speak to every Railcare employee, and keep them fully informed. Manpower requirements at Railcare will depend on the level of customer spending that is committed going forward. The Administrator’s duty is to try to rescue the business as a going concern and maximise jobs, and if that is not possible to maximise recoveries to creditors, including employees.”

Meanwhile, the RMT has been calling for emergency government support, so far without success.

The union's general secretary Bob Crow said: "This crisis has left 500 staff unpaid and without any security and the root cause appears to be the franchising shambles in the wake of the West Coast fiasco. Vince Cable and the Government have a moral and economic duty to intervene urgently to save these jobs and protect the scheduled work and RMT will meet with him at any time to assist in moving this on. All of us now need to work together to secure these jobs and the important work that the company is involved in.”