Hitachi Rail & Alstom win £2bn contract for high-speed trains in UK

A 50/50 joint venture between Alstom and Hitachi Rail has been awarded a £1.97 billion (€2.31 billion) contract with the UK's HS2 high-speed rail project to design, build, and maintain the next generation of very high-speed trains.

The two train manufacturers aim to deliver the fastest operational train in Europe, capable of travelling at maximum speeds of 360 km/h (225 mph). 

The fleet will be 100% electric, making it one of the world’s most energy-efficient very high-speed trains due to the lower train mass per passenger, aerodynamic design, regenerative power and energy-efficient traction technology.

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The trains will be built at Hitachi Rail’s new advanced welding facility in Newton Aycliffe, at a new production line at Alstom’s factory in Derby and by a new bogie manufacturing facility at Alstom Crewe, which is set to create and sustain 2,500 jobs, according to the companies' press release. It added that 2,000 indirect jobs are expected to be created elsewhere in the UK economy through the "extensive use of UK supply chains".

The new 200m-long, 8-car trains are set to run in Phase 1 of the project between London and Birmingham, and on the existing network, and will dramatically increase capacity and connectivity between towns and cities across the country including Stoke, Crewe, Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle, Motherwell and Glasgow. It is hoped the HS2 project will have a major impact in reducing the UK's carbon emissions from transport by encouraging people away from fossil-fuelled cars and planes, and onto rail.

Andrew Barr, Group CEO, Hitachi Rail said: “We are excited to be pioneering the next generation of high-speed rail in the UK as part of our joint venture with Alstom. This British-built bullet train will be the fastest in Europe, and I am proud of the role that Hitachi will play in helping to improve mobility in the UK through this project.”

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Nick Crossfield, Alstom’s Managing Director, UK & Ireland, added: “HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Britain by building a sustainable transport system fit for the 21st Century. I am delighted that Alstom’s joint venture with Hitachi Rail has been selected to develop, build and maintain in Britain the next generation of high-speed trains.”

The HS2 rolling stock contract is expected to create and sustain over 2,500 jobs. 505 people will be directly employed by the two companies in the Midlands and the North in the design and manufacturing phase, including 49 apprentices and graduates working on the prestigious programme. The extensive use of UK supply chain means that a further 2,000 indirect jobs are expected to be created elsewhere in the UK economy.

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