New £4.5bn Intercity Express train fleet announced

Date: 25/7/2012

A new fleet of low carbon Intercity Express trains is to be created at a cost of £4.5 billion to the government, it has been announced.

A consortium led by Hitachi is to build the 92 new trains at a factory to be located in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Two types of train will go into production for the new fleet, with some being electric and others being bi-mode trains made up of five or nine vehicles each.

It is thought that the project will create in excess of 900 jobs with 730 skilled workers needed and a further 200 in demand for the construction stage.

Justine Greening, Transport Secretary, said: "A new train factory is fantastic news for Britain and will be welcomed by everyone who wants to see a thriving UK manufacturing sector."

New depots in order to maintain the trains will be built in Bristol, Swansea, west London and Doncaster, with others across the country being upgraded to take on the challenge.

Benefits expected to come from the new fleet include the ability for trains to accelerate more quickly as well as more frequent services offered.

Inside the trains there will be an increased number of seats, as well as additional legroom and extra space for baggage.

Ms Greening said: "The decision to build almost 600 new intercity train carriages is great for rail passengers who will experience faster and more comfortable journeys when travelling across Britain on the East Coast and Great Western main lines."

Construction on the factory itself is expected to start in 2013 with the trains going into production from 2015.

They are then due to enter into service on the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

The north east of England is already home to a Nissan plant at Sunderland which produces low carbon vehicles, so the new factory producing the trains will be following in its footsteps.

Posted by Nick Anderson

International Transport News and Sustainable Transport News