A NEW era in the history of North-East train building starts this morning when Hitachi opens the doors to its £82m train factory.
At 11am in a ceremony attended by ministers, 500 guests and 100 journalists from around the world Hitachi will declare the Newton Aycliffe Rail Vehicle Manufacturing Facility open for business.
Karen Boswell, managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe, told The Northern Echo that today’s opening ceremony would be spectacular: “I am supremely confident that we will leave an indelible memory of the day Hitachi opened in Newton Aycliffe. Things that you thought weren’t possible will happen today. It will be more than cutting a red ribbon – I like innovation and this will be like nothing you have seen before.”
A Class 800 train which will be built at Hitachi's factory in Newton Aycliffe
The factory is close to Heighington Crossing where, almost 190 years ago to the day, George Stephenson assembled Locomotion No. 1 and began the first generation of passenger engines.
Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson welcomed the return of train building to the area, and added: “I see a bright future for Newton Aycliffe. The town now boasts the largest industrial estate in the North-East and with Hitachi working as a catalyst for new investment I believe Aycliffe will go from strength to strength.”
Stewart Watkins and Simon Goon of Business Durham, plant manager Darren Cumner, MP Phil Wilson and development director Geoff Hunton at the site of the new factory in 2013
Mark Perkins, chief executive at Shepherd, which led construction of the facility, believed that the building and on-site test track had showcased the skills of North-East workers. “This achievement is the product of exceptional collaboration between talented local and regional suppliers. More than 30 companies, based within a 50 mile radius of site, shared 95 per cent of the total project spend and seeing this boost to the regional economy has been a particularly satisfying element of this project,” he said.
Hitachi Aycliffe has contracts to make trains to replace the 40-year old rolling stock that runs on the East Coast main line, which links the North-East with Scotland and London, as well as intercity trains for the Great Western Lines, and commuter trains for Scotland.
Don't miss The Northern Echo's souvenir edition today as it celebrates a new dawn for train building in the North-East
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