HS2 trains to be built in County Durham bringing jobs to the region
The Government have announced today that new HS2 trains will be built by Hitachi/Alstom JV, here in Newton Aycliffe, and in Derby and Crewe.
It's claimed it'll create 2,500 jobs across the Country - it's unclear how many of those will be in this region.
Work started on the controversial high speed railway in September last year, after massive delays.
The project has already run tens of billions of pounds over budget and some have questioned scrapping it entirely - and it's faced criticism in our region as the route only goes up to Leeds, and no further North.
The Government say it will increase in capacity on Britain’s railways, as well as bringing economic benefits.
HS2 Ltd says the high-speed trains will carry more than 300,000 passengers a day, but they will also create space for more services on existing routes such as the West Coast Main Line.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Today’s announcement places Britain firmly at the forefront of the high-speed rail revolution with a billion pound investment in state-of-the-art trains serving communities right across the country from London to Glasgow.
“Not only does this show we are getting on with delivering better and faster journeys through our plans to upgrade the rail network, this is another landmark step in the delivery of HS2, sustaining 2,500 jobs and levelling up employment and leisure opportunities for generations to come.”
The first train is expected to roll off the production line around 2027. Following testing and commissioning, the first passengers are expected to be carried between 2029 and 2033.