A TRAINBUILDER is creating more than 100 jobs to ramp up work on next generation rolling stock, The Northern Echo can exclusively reveal.

Hitachi Rail Europe is recruiting 150 fixed-term workers, including many apprentices, for its plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The staff will add to Hitachi’s original target of 730 people and mean the business has a workforce of nearly 900 at its £82m site.

Officials, who already have more than 500 workers on their books, say they expect to meet their initial 730 mark by the end of the year.

The Northern Echo can also reveal the business is just days away from assembling rolling stock destined for Scottish lines.

The company has a contract to supply hundreds of carriages for the ScotRail franchise and work is expected to start once the factory’s summer shutdown ends later this month.

The 100mph commuter trains will be made up of three-car and four-car trains, known as Class 385s, and are expected to run from late 2017 on electrified lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as routes covering Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane.

An example of the ScotRail 385 is now being shipped to the region from Japan, to help with the fleet’s development in the UK.

A spokeswoman told The Northern Echo work on the Scottish fleet will be carried out alongside existing deals to make stock for the East Coast and Great Western routes under the Government’s Intercity Express Programme (IEP).

She said such demand means bosses have had to revise staffing levels, adding the company wants to attract more female apprentices.

She said: “As we’ve been gaining new business since the factory opened last September, we’re recruiting another 150 fixed-term positions to provide us with the flexibility we need to deliver concurrent train delivery contracts.

“We hope around a third of these new positions will be apprenticeships, giving young people a tremendous opportunity to improve their skill spectrum.”

Hitachi previously told The Northern Echo its IEP and ScotRail contracts, which have since been followed by an agreement to make stock for the TransPennine Express franchise, which links the North-East with Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, could just be the tip of the iceberg.

Speaking in June, Karen Boswell, managing director, refused to rule out new deals, adding it was assessing opportunities across the HS2 high-speed rail link, potential contracts to make new London tube trains and prospects to supply European lines.

She said: “The people in the North-East are absolutely dedicated to producing top-quality trains.

“Train manufacturing contracts are long-term relationships and the IEP deals started us off.

“But there are opportunities out there for HS2, the New Tube for London scheme, and Europe.

“Why would you not want these trains made in the UK?”

Ms Boswell, who was previously managing director at East Coast Trains, added: “There is a buzz here, it’s palpable and people can see the long-term future.

“The UK is an incredibly buoyant market for rolling stock.”

Hitachi’s IEP trains are due to enter service on Western lines next year and begin on the East Coast in 2018.

The company is holding an open day on Thursday, September 1 to speak to prospective women apprentices.

They will have the chance to tour its factory and see work being carried out.

To register for a place, visit eventbrite.co.uk/e/hitachi-rail-apprenticeship-open-day-tickets-26963702159