A TRAIN builder has moved closer to starting work on its £82m North-East venture.

Hitachi Rail Europe is today beginning the process of delivering its first rolling stock to the UK.

The Japanese firm says the Class 800 train, made for the Government’s Intercity Express Programme (IEP), will arrive in March.

Running tests and onboard staff training are due to start in April, with the train, unveiled in November last year, due to be loaded on to a ship in Japan’s Kobe Port later this month.

They added tests will be carried out on the UK rail network for Agility Trains, a consortium of Hitachi Rail Europe and John Laing.

Alistair Dormer, Hitachi Rail Europe’s global chief executive, said the announcement marked a significant point in the company’s project to return the train building industry back to its North-East roots.

He said: “I’m immensely proud the first shipment is leaving our factory.

“Our engineering teams in the UK and Japan have been working exceptionally hard with all stakeholders to ensure this train will be ready for testing in the UK from April.”

Its arrival will come just months before Hitachi opens its 730-job factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The site will make Class 800 and 801 IEP trains for Great Western Main Line services, running via Bristol to south Wales, from 2017, and East Coast Main Line trains the following year.

The plant, due to open its doors at the end of this year, is also expected to produce 100mph next generation commuter trains for Scotland after operator Abellio last year named Hitachi its preferred bidder for 70 engines and 234 carriages.

The first trains Hitachi will build in the region will be 122 Class 800 models, destined for Great Western and East Coast routes.

Of the 122 trains, twelve are being made at its factory in Kasado, Japan, with the remaining 110 due to be manufactured at Newton Aycliffe.

They will be used on the IEP to modernise the UK’s ageing 40-year-old high-speed train fleet, alongside their sister Class 801 trains.