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Hitachi Newton Aycliffe

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Coordinates: 54°35′33″N 1°35′15″W / 54.5925°N 1.5875°W / 54.5925; -1.5875
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Hitachi Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe Rail Vehicle Assembly Facility exterior
Newton Aycliffe Rail Vehicle Assembly Facility exterior
Hitachi Newton Aycliffe is located in County Durham
Hitachi Newton Aycliffe
Location in County Durham
Map
Built3 September 2015 (2015-09-03)
LocationNewton Aycliffe
Coordinates54°35′33″N 1°35′15″W / 54.5925°N 1.5875°W / 54.5925; -1.5875
IndustryRolling stock assembly
ProductsClass 385
Class 800
Class 801
Class 802
Class 803
Class 805
Class 807
Class 810
Employees1,000 (2017)
700 (2020)
Owner(s)Hitachi
David Cameron at the opening of Hitachi Newton Aycliffe

Hitachi Newton Aycliffe (also known as Newton Aycliffe Manufacturing Facility[1]) is a railway rolling stock assembly plant owned by Hitachi Rail Europe, situated in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, in the North East of England.

The Newton Aycliffe facility was created as a result of the Agility Trains consortium being selected to produce high speed trains for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) in 2009. During 2011, Hitachi announced its selection of the site and construction work commenced two years later. The 43,000 m2 (460,000 sq ft) factory, which was officially opened on 3 September 2015, was completed at a cost of £82 million. Initially, the facility only performed assembly, using components that were produced elsewhere to complete trains, and no actual manufacturing operations took place. However, some manufacturing activities have been performed at Newton Aycliffe for later-built trains.

Originally, the factory assembled the Class 800 and Class 802 trainsets for the IEP. However, Hitachi subsequently secured further orders, such as to produce Class 385 EMUs for the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme, Class 802s for TransPennine Express, and a fleet of 165 vehicles for East Midlands Railway. By 2020, the plant reportedly employed around 700 people, and was engaged in building the Classes 803, 805, 807 and 810 trainsets. In December 2021, it was announced that the rolling stock for HS2 would be produced as a joint venture between Hitachi and Alstom, and that part of the manufacturing for this order would take place at Newtown Aycliffe. During the mid-2020s, there has been increasingly speculation that, without further orders, the factory will be permanently closed before the end of the decade.

History

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Origins and construction

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See also: Intercity Express Programme

In 2005, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) decided to procure new trains to replace the InterCity 125 fleet on both the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line, launching the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) to this end.[2][3][4] During June 2008, three companies, the British infrastructure specialist John Laing Group, the Japanese rolling stock manufacturer Hitachi and the British investment firm Barclays Private Equity, created the Agility Trains consortium for the purpose of jointly bidding for the contract to design, manufacture, and maintain a fleet of long-distance trains for the IEP.[5][6]

On 12 February 2009, the Government announced that Agility Trains had been selected as the preferred bidder for the contract, with the Siemens-Bombardier consortia as reserve bidders – the value of the contract was then estimated at £7.5bn, including replacements for both Intercity 125 and 225 trains.[7] In 2011, Hitachi chose the site of its British factory at developer Merchant Place Developments' Amazon Park (later renamed Merchant Park mid 2013[8]) site in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham,[9][10] close to Heighington railway station and adjacent to the Tees Valley Line.[note 1] Hitachi announced its intention to proceed with construction of the facility in July 2012, after financial closure was achieved for the part of the train order that concerned the GWML.[11] This would be the first factory that Hitachi had built in Europe.[12]

On 1 November 2013, contract for the construction of the £82M 43,000 m2 (460,000 sq ft) factory was awarded to Shepherd Group on 1 November 2013.[13][14] Construction of the factory was scheduled to start in 2013, with train production beginning in 2015,[15] and the plant reaching full production capacity in 2016.[11] Erection of the frame of the factory was complete by June 2014,[16] with an official topping out ceremony held in October 2014.[17]

Opening and activities

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On 3 September 2015, the factory was officially opened in the presence of Hiroaki Nakanishi (Hitachi), Patrick McLoughlin (MP), Claire Perry (MP), George Osborne (MP), David Cameron (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) and 500 guests.[18] The facility created 420 jobs, and aimed to employ more than 700 at maximum capacity. It was reported that it received over 16,000 job applications, in an area where the Teesside Steelworks recently closed down with a loss of 3,000 jobs. Upon its opening, no actual manufacturing operations took place at the facility; it instead assembled components that had been built elsewhere into completed trains. Within two years of opening, in excess of 1,000 employees were working at the site.[19][20]

During January 2016, it was announced that Hitachi's successful tender for the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme consisting of new Class 385s would be primarily assembled at Newton Aycliffe, and as part of FirstGroup's successful tender for the TransPennine Express franchise, it was announced in March 2016 that new Class 802 rolling stock would be assembled at Newton Aycliffe.[21][22] It was stated by Hiroaki Nakanishi that a UK vote to leave the European Union would result in a scaling back of investment in Newton Aycliffe, a comment which was echoed by local Labour politician and backer of Britain Stronger in Europe, Phil Wilson.[23]

In March 2019, Lumo ordered five AT300 trains for its services on the East Coast Main Line. The five units were built at Newton Aycliffe and would be maintained by Hitachi for ten years as part of the £100 million deal.[24] When this order was announced, Hitachi stated that the plant needed new orders especially after it had lost out on London Underground's New Tube for London contract to rival firm Siemens. The company said that it would be bidding for a proposed bi-mode fleet for the East Midlands franchise and the replacement trains for the Nexus contract on the Tyne and Wear Metro.[25] The units were designated as the Class 803.

In July 2019, it was confirmed that Hitachi would build a fleet of 33 five-car bi-mode units for East Midlands Railway. The project was listed as being worth £400 million.[26]

In late 2019, it was announced that Avanti West Coast had ordered 23 A-Train units to replace the 20 strong fleet of Class 221 Super Voyagers. Nominally worth over £350 million, the order is for 13 five-car bi-mode units, and 10 seven-car electric trains, later named the Classes 805 and 807 respectively.[27]

By 2020, the plant reportedly employed around 700 people, and was engaged in assembling/building the Classes 803, 805, 807 and 810.[28] These train orders was to see the factory in business until 2023, when the final unit is due to be delivered.[29]

In December 2021, it was announced that a joint venture between Hitachi and Alstom had won the contract to build 54 trains for the High Speed 2 programme. The rolling stock would be constructed at Newton Aycliffe and Alstom plants in Crewe and Derby.[30] However, questions over the future of this order have been raised.[31]

During December 2023, Hitachi opted to write down the value of the Newton Aycliffe plant by £64.8m, raising concerns over its future, as well as that of the wider British rail manufacturing sector; the company publicly emphasized that this decision did not directly threaten the future of the plant and that its production capability remained available for further rolling stock orders if they are placed.[32] In April 2024, a company spokesperson remarked that closure would be inevitable if new orders were not forthcoming to keep the site active; it was also reported that redundancies at the facilities may commence as soon as June.[33][34]

Site

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The factory covers over 31.5 acres of land with a building footprint of 475,000 sq ft (44,000 m2).[35] It can assemble a maximum of 35 vehicles a month. The site is situated close to where George Stephenson assembled Locomotion No. 1, the first locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line.[36]

New trains outside Hitachi's Newton Aycliffe facility; Class 385s and Class 800/3s are in the yard, with a Class 08 shunter in attendance to carry out yard movements.

Classes

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The following classes have been assembled at the plant;

Notes

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  1. ^ 54°35′39″N 1°35′19″W / 54.59412°N 1.588495°W / 54.59412; -1.588495 – location of the Hitachi factory, Amazon Park / Merchant Park, Newton Aycliffe.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Our Locations". hitachirail-eu.com. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  2. ^ Foster 2010, p. 3, Executive Summary - Background and timeline.
  3. ^ "IEP - Intercity Express Programme". European Investment Bank. 21 January 2008.
  4. ^ "OJ/S S48 09/03/2007 59536-2007-EN, UK-London: passenger transport by railway 2007/S 48-059536" (PDF). Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union.
  5. ^ "New train fleet 'to boost jobs'". BBC News. 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  6. ^ Department for Transport (12 February 2009). "Passengers and economy to benefit from biggest investment in trains for a generation". Central Office of Information. Retrieved 12 February 2009. [dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Agility Trains to supply Super Express fleet". Railway Gazette International. London, UK. 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Amazon Park". Archived from the original on 24 May 2013.
  9. ^ "Hitachi go-ahead 'a massive boost for the North East'" (PDF) (Press release). Merchant Place Developments. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Agility Trains Confirm Intercity Express Programme Contract" (PDF) (Press release). Agility Trains. 1 March 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Intercity Express Programme Financial Close Paves Way for Hitachi Investment in Rail Manufacturing and Assembly Plant" (Press release). Hitachi via Japan Corporate News Network. 25 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Train manufacture starts at Hitachi Newton Aycliffe plant". Darlington and Stockton Times. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  13. ^ Knowlson, Laura (1 November 2013). "Shepherd to build £82 million train factory". The Press. York.
  14. ^ Hitachi Rail Europe Manufacturing Plant - Start of Construction Phase Ceremony with Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP and Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP (Press release), Hitachi, 1 November 2013
  15. ^ "£4.5 billion investment in new trains creates new jobs" (Press release). Department for Transport. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  16. ^ "Hitachi Rail Europe Completes Steel Frame of Manufacturing Facility", www.railway-news.com, 2 June 2014, archived from the original on 6 June 2014
  17. ^ "Hitachi Rail Europe tops out Newton Aycliffe factory", Railway Gazette International, 30 October 2014
  18. ^ Sources:
  19. ^ "Hitachi unveils first UK built trains at Co Durham factory". ITV News. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Hitachi unveils first finished ScotRail Class 385". railtechnologymagazine.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  21. ^ UK, DVV Media. "ScotRail Class 385 EMUs under construction". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  22. ^ UK, DVV Media. "Hitachi awarded TransPennine Express multiple-unit contract". Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Brexit could force Newton Aycliffe's Hitachi to rethink its commitment to UK, warns chairman". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  24. ^ "FirstGroup and Hitachi announce new partnership for high speed trains linking London and Edinburgh". Rail Professional. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  25. ^ Clinnick, Richard (10 April 2019). "Train orders crucial to Newton Aycliffe future". Rail. No. 876. Peterborough, UK: Bauer Media. pp. 20–21. ISSN 0953-4563.
  26. ^ Clinnick, Richard (14 August 2019). "£400m bi-modes order launches EMR replacement programme". Rail. No. 885. Peterborough, UK: Bauer Media. p. 22. ISSN 0953-4563.
  27. ^ Milner, Chris, ed. (January 2020). "Hitachi wins £350Million order for new West Coast Trains". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 1, 428, no. 164. Horncastle, UK: Mortons Media. p. 7. ISSN 0033-8923.
  28. ^ Pritchard, Robert, ed. (November 2020). "Five years of Newton Aycliffe". Today's Railways. No. 225. Sheffield, UK: Platform 5. p. 17. ISSN 1475-9713.
  29. ^ Sherratt, Philip (September 2020). "Hitachi's landmark moment". Modern Railways. Vol. 77, no. 864. Stamford, UK: Key Publishing. p. 67. ISSN 0026-8356.
  30. ^ Gill, Oliver (10 December 2021). "HS2 on track to be the 'fastest train in Europe'". The Daily Telegraph. No. 51, 809. Business. p. 8. ISSN 0307-1235.
  31. ^ Abboud, Leila; Plimmer, Gill (31 March 2024). "Alstom set to mothball Derby plant over HS2 order delays". Financial Times.
  32. ^ Whitfield, Graeme (11 December 2023). "Hitachi slashes value of Durham factory amid crisis in rail industry". business-live.co.uk.
  33. ^ Holland, Daniel (12 April 2024). "Hitachi Rail layoff talks 'could start in June'". BBC News.
  34. ^ Jasper, Christopher (6 April 2024). "How a 200-year-old British industry reached the end of the line". The Telegraph.
  35. ^ Ltd, White October. "UK Manufacturing Facility | Hitachi Rail Europe". www.hitachirail-eu.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  36. ^ Richardson, Andy (3 September 2015). "Cameron welcomes train manufacturing back to the North-East". The Northern Echo. Newsquest. Retrieved 28 July 2016. The new 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.
  37. ^ Milan Metro cars in Newton Aycliffe The Railway Magazine issue 1436 November 2020 page 9

Sources

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