“An attractive bid” – the Government’s verdict on Bombardier’s Thameslink rolling stock vision, which remains the “reserve bid”, but which in all likelihood will now never go ahead.

There is no immediate fall-out from the decision, but in the coming weeks the impact on jobs will become more clear. Already there are temporary workers who know they will now never get full-time jobs with Bombardier or its suppliers, and the long-term future of the company’s Derby operations are now looking perilous.

There is no need for despair – the DDRF sensibly noted that there are still plenty of opportunities for Derbyshire and UK rail companies to do business with Siemens, as they can with Hitachi through the IEP.

Plus, plenty of UK rail jobs will be created and secured in the North East as Siemens begins production of its Desiros – although not as many as would have been in Bombardier had won.

Many people are criticising the Government today, but its hands are tied as far as competition law is concerned: it could hardly assess Siemens’ bid as the best value-for-money, then ignore that and plump for Bombardier anyway.

For those still digesting this news and what it means – the quicker they can find some positives and look to future opportunities, the better.