UK: The manufacturer has received a contract for 14 five-car trains, which will help give the Newton Aycliffe site a future.
The deal from the lessor Angel Trains and the rail operator FirstGroup is worth £500 mln (€605.3 mln), including a ten-year maintenance. It also envisages an option for a further 13 trainsets worth £460 mln (€556.9 mln). From the end of 2027, the manufacturer is to supply British Class 80X battery electric or bi-mode trains.
The Hitachi Rail factory in Newton Aycliffe “stared down the barrel of devastating job losses”, according to the prime minister, due to lack of new orders in the UK for more than 18 months. The British Railway Industry Association pointed out these risks. Currently, it is said that the new order will secure the stable operation of the factory within 2025, however its future is left mired in uncertainty in the long run.
The car-building plant in Derby, owned by Alstom, had wound up in the same situation and was saved from closure by the order for ten nine-car EMUs received in June.
