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A state-of-the-art train assembly facility is set to be built as part of a £4.5 billion government contract.
The Department for Transport has provided the funding for 596 railway carriages to be built by Agility Trains, a consortium made up of Hitachi and John Laing.
Newton Aycliffe in County Durham will be the location for the new factory, with maintenance depots also being constructed in Bristol, Swansea, west London and Doncaster.
"A new train factory is fantastic news for Britain and will be welcomed by everyone who wants to see a thriving UK manufacturing sector," commented transport secretary Justine Greening.
"It means 730 new skilled jobs created at the factory, 200 jobs in constructing the plant and thousands of jobs secured in the supply chain."
Construction work in County Durham is expected to begin in 2013 and work will start to assemble an intercity fleet of 92 complete trains once the plant becomes fully operational in 2015.
Author: Editor Gavin Pearson (gpearson@acenet.co.uk or 0207 202 0255)
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