UK: On 4 October, Hitachi Rail hosted a Railway 200 ‘Open Day’ at its site, marking 200 years since the birth of the modern railway.
The 43,000 m2 factory was opened in September 2015. Investments in the project exceeded £100 mln (€115 mln). The factory reportedly employs up to 700 people, with 2,000 staff members in supply chains.
Train production at the Newton Aycliffe factory of Hitachi Rail. Source: DavidShirres/X
Currently, the factory is implementing a contract to supply 14 five-car hybrid trains from the leasing Angel Trains and operator FirstGroup. The units are due to be supplied starting in 2027. The completion of the contract is supposed to be followed by the production of 54 trains for a high-speed line, HS2.
Before receiving the contract, the factory stared down the barrel of devastating job losses due to the lack of new orders in the UK for more than 18 months.
