A TRAINBUILDER will have nearly 900 staff at its North-East plant by Easter, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Hitachi Rail Europe says its workforce will continue rising over the coming months as it ramps up production of next generation rolling stock for English and Scottish lines.

The company, based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is also understood to be close to officially launching its first train.

Earlier this year, The Northern Echo exclusively revealed Hitachi was creating an extra 150 posts as demand forced it to go past an initial 730-job target.

According to latest numbers, the business now has more than 700 staff at Aycliffe after 22 people started on Monday, with nearly 50 of its workforce now recruited as manufacturing apprentices.

Darren Cumner, Aycliffe plant manager, previously told The Northern Echo the company was not resting on its laurels.

He said: “We will continue to recruit.

“We are ploughing on with building trains for the Intercity Express Programme and have started ScotRail too.

“There will always be an award cycle and a bidding cycle.

“The potential is there but we have to make high-quality trains; that is the key focus for us.”

Work on the business’ production lines began almost a year ago to the day, and manufacturing levels have since increased to fulfil Hitachi’s initial contract haul.

The company is making stock for the Great Western and East Coast Main Line routes under the Government’s Intercity Express Programme, as well as trains for Scottish routes, which will run on electrified lines between Edinburgh and Glasgow and take in Stirling, Alloa and Dunblane.

It also has a deal to supply FirstGroup’s TransPennine Express franchise, which links the North-East with Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and has an agreement to send stock to Hull Trains, which officials say will come into service from 2019 and operate on electric and diesel power.

Earlier this year, bosses confirmed it had formed a joint venture with Bombardier in an attempt to secure a contract to make thousands of London Underground cars.

The prospective deal could cover up to 3,300 cars for routes, including the Piccadilly, Bakerloo and Central lines, and run from the mid-2020s.

It is understood significant amounts of work could come to Aycliffe if the bid is successful, though the company said it is too early to speculate on any potential manufacturing arrangements.