* 60 workers need jobs

* Council to help

A COMPANY that pledged to transform Goulburn’s rail workshops into a maintenance icon has pulled out of the city, leaving up to 60 employees in the lurch.

United Group Rail (UGL) announced on Wednesday that it would shut its Braidwood Rd rail maintenance and manufacturing operation on June 30.

One worker, who did not wish to be identified said he and his colleagues felt they had been “lied to” for the past six weeks.

“Work opportunities in town are limited anyway and now there are more than 50 blokes who will all be suddenly looking for the same type of work in Goulburn,” he told the Post.

UGL spokesperson David Loch has blamed rising rent on the Rail Infrastructure Corporation owned site and a drying up of work from Railcorp.

But the closure announcement comes amid UGL securing $100 million in rail freight orders.

For the full story, please see Friday's Goulburn Post, available from our front office in Auburn St, or at all leading newsagencies across the Goulburn area.