UNION chiefs in Hampshire have welcomed news that heavy engineering giant Alstom is to focus on train repair activities in the UK.

The troubled French company, which also built Southampton's £550m Queen Mary 2 liner, owns two key train-care depots in the UK - one at Eastleigh and one at Wolverton, near Milton Keynes.

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Daily Echo, there had been fears that debt-laden Alstom would have to hive off some of its businesses in Britain as compensation for being bailed out by the French government last summer.

The ruling by the European Commission, which was unhappy about the private company being given state aid, gave rise to fears that the Eastleigh works might be among those in the sell-off frame.

But that threat has now receded after Alstom, while not giving any guarantees over job security, told the Daily Echo it is to "refocus" on exactly the activities the 500 or so workers at Eastleigh are good at. They repair and refurbish trains for big-spend customers like South West Trains and Mersey Rail.

Peter Luffman, the chairman of the local Transport and General Workers Union railway branch, said: "The comments made are very warmly welcomed and hopefully will greatly increase the chances of keeping the Eastleigh works open."

An Alstom spokesman said yesterday: "In the UK, Alstom is refocusing transport activities from new train building and refocusing on maintenance and renovation markets."

Significantly, he praised the "encouraging results" and "green shoots" at the Eastleigh depot.

Alstom, which Paris saved from going to the wall last summer after racking up debts of £3.2 billion, is not yet out of the woods, however.

Consultants claim that Alstom will only be viable if it retains its key train and turbine sectors.

But Brussels may yet target "niche" businesses within those lucrative arms in order to bolster Alstom's battered balance sheet.