Train contract awarded to Hitachi to create 900 UK jobs

[John Ashworth]

Train contract awarded to Hitachi to create 900 UK jobs

25 July 2012 Last updated at 08:13 GMT BBC

More than 900 jobs will be created as part of a £4.5bn contract to build and maintain new inter-city trains, the Department for Transport has said.

Agility Trains, a consortium made up of Japanese firm Hitachi and UK builder John Laing, will construct a new factory in County Durham.

New maintenance depots will be built in Bristol, Swansea and Doncaster.

The government has been in negotiations about the details since Agility was made the preferred bidder in 2009.

The 92 new trains trains will run on the East Coast main line in 2018 and Great Western main line in 2017.

As well 200 people employed in the construction of Hitachi's new train assembly plant in Newton Aycliffe and the 730 skilled staff who will work there, the deal will also secure thousands of jobs in the supply chain, the government said.

The confirmation of the final details of the contract was made a day before the Global Investment Conference in London, one of a series of trade and investment events coinciding with the Olympic Games.

Jaguar Landrover said earlier that it was creating 1,100 jobs at its Castle Bromwich plant to build new models.

The government was criticised last year for awarding a train contract to build new train carriages for its Thameslink route to a consortium led by German firm Siemens.

The decision to not award it to Canadian firm Bombardier was blamed for the loss of more than 1,000 jobs at its UK factory in Derby.

It had been feared that the decision would lead to the complete closure of the plant, the UK's only major trainmaking facility, but its owners said earlier this year that it would remain open for the time being.

Agility Trains signs Intercity Express Programme contract

25 July 2012 Railway Gazette

UK: Signing of the Intercity Express Programme contract to supply and maintain the next generation of 200 km/h inter-city trains was announced by the Department for Transport and Agility Trains on July 25. The overall package is valued at £4·5bn.

Financial close has been reached for IEP Phase 1, which covers the provision of 369 electric and 'bi-mode' vehicles for Great Western services. The bi-mode units will have underfloor diesel engines to operate on non-electrified routes, which DfT said 'is estimated to save around £200m' compared with using all-electric trains hauled by diesel locomotives beyond the wires. The diesel engines can be removed if electrification is extended in the future. Vehicles will be 26 m long.

In addition, commercial close has been reached for Phase 2, where financial close is expected in 2013. Phase 2 covers 227 vehicles for East Coast services, with an option for a further 270 cars.