Thursday 12 February 2009 07:25Department for Transport (National)
Passengers and economy to benefit from biggest investment in trains for a generation
Passengers on some of the country's busiest rail routes will benefit from the single biggest investment in Intercity trains for a generation, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced today.
Agility Trains has been selected as the preferred bidder for a £7.5bn contract to build and maintain a fleet of new Super Express trains for the Great Western and East Coast main lines. These will replace existing high speed trains which are 20-30 years old.
Agility - a British-led consortium comprising of John Laing, Hitachi and Barclays - will make a significant inward investment as part of this contract. They will build a new train manufacturing plant in the UK, as well as depots in Bristol, Reading, Doncaster, Leeds and west London with upgrades to existing depots throughout Great Britain. This will create or safeguard some 12,500 manufacturing jobs in these regions.
Geoff Hoon also announced that the Department is in advanced negotiations with National Express East Anglia to provide 120 new carriages for the Stansted Express service from London Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport. The preferred bidder for this order is Bombardier Transportation, who plan to build them in Derby and therefore safeguard jobs there.
Geoff Hoon said: "This announcement demonstrates that this Government is prepared to invest, even in difficult economic times, by improving our national infrastructure. It is good news for the British Economy that over 12,500 jobs will be created and safeguarded; good news for the regions that the Government is supporting significant inward investment; and good news for passengers that we are taking the steps necessary to improve their rail journeys."
The first of the new trains will enter service on the East Coast mainline in 2013. Trains will enter full service from 2015, linking London with Cambridge, Leeds, Hull, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh and linking London with the Thames Valley, Bristol and South Wales.
Government rail experts working alongside the rail industry have created a new specification for these trains that will offer more seats, more reliable services and reduced journey times.
Professor Andrew McNaughton, Network Rail's Chief Engineer, said:
"Network Rail has been delighted to support DfT from the very start on the development of this project. This will be the first train for many years which has been developed as part of a system together with the GB rail infrastructure.
"We have worked with DfT to optimise the design of both train and infrastructure to give the best capacity and passenger experience and the best whole life costs. This is a big train, but it will tread softly and so reduce the amount of maintenance and network down-time needed."
Alec McTavish, Association of Train Operating Companies' (ATOC's) Director of Policy and Operations, said:
"This announcement is good news for the rail industry and passengers. The fleet will provide long distance operators with the trains they need to meet the needs of a growing market and passengers with an attractive, cost effective travel choice, which is essential if rail's potential to reduce the UK's carbon footprint and transport congestion is to be realised.
"ATOC and its members have been working closely on the development of the trains' specification and will now work with the Department and Network Rail to bring them into service."
