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ROLLING STOCK


T


he Intercity Express Programme (IEP) contract has now been offi cially awarded


to Agility Trains, a consortium made up of Hitachi Rail Europe (70%) and John Laing (30%). Hitachi believes the agreement is much more than just an order for rolling stock, with a legacy of service delivery planned for the next 27 and a half years.


The July announcement of the fi nancial close of the Great Western Main Line elements of the £4.5bn deal, and commercial close on the East Coat Main Line elements, means that 596 rail carriages and a new manufacturing plant and depots will be constructed, as well as provision of maintenance and support. Financial close on the ECML elements, assuming no more delays,


miles per casualty. The industry average is around 13,000 miles per casualty.


Job creation


RTM spoke to managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe, Keith Jordan, about the deal and what it would mean for the UK. Jordan said between 500 and 730 ‘direct’ jobs in the manufacturing plant in County Durham will be created – depending on whether single-shift or double-shift working is required.


Apart from this headline fi gure, there will be many more jobs created in the supply chain throughout the UK, and around 200 people will be employed to build the factory itself. But


available for a guaranteed 27 and a half years.”


The response from these schools has been “very good”, Jordan added, with training agencies in the area asking what skills would be required when the factory opens. He said these agencies “will be more than happy to adjust curricula to the needs of what could be a major supplier in the area”.


The training will consist of a large spread of core skills that would be useful across industries, not just rail and not just Hitachi.


“We’re starting at the grass roots level, out of schools and giving people a long-term future,” he said.


Hitachi Rail Europe’s managing director, Keith Jordan, talks to RTM about the IEP contract, which encompasses so much more than just buying trains.


should happen next year.


This is broken down into 21 nine-car electric trains and 36 fi ve-car bi-mode trains for the GWML (369 carriages), and 12 fi ve-car electric trains and 10 fi ve-car bi-mode trains for the ECML (227 carriages), with an option for a further 30 nine-car electric trains (270 carriages).


A mix of electric and bi-mode Super Express trains, able to operate on both electrifi ed and non-electrifi ed parts of the network, will replace the ageing Intercity 125 fl eet with higher capacity, passenger comfort and impressive environmental credentials, Hitachi says.


The bi-mode trains are expected to achieve 45,000 miles per casualty, and the electric fl eet 60,000 miles: which, if managed, would not be far behind the best-performing EMUs currently on the network, South West Trains’ Siemens-built Class 444 Desiros.


Hitachi’s only other current UK fl eet, the high-speed Class 395 (Javelin) trains on Southeastern, which did such sterling service during the Olympics, achieve just over 50,000


134 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 12


Hitachi is also looking to the long term and is taking steps to ensure it has a sustainable workforce for the future.


Long-term legacy


Jordan said: “We will be taking on apprentices. We’re already talking to universities and schools about [getting] training in place so that people can actually learn the right skills to be able to have a job within the factory or within our supply chain when they come out of school, or graduate.”


This involves ensuring the skill base is there when the factory opens in 2015, as well as for future impacts around multiple industries. And it is not just a case of fi nding people to fi ll jobs; Jordan specifi ed that certain skills would be highlighted as necessary for the work that would become available.


He added: “We’re looking at a long-term legacy as part of the IEP project. Overall the project is contracted for 27 and a half years of support and supply of the trains, so one of the things we’re desperately trying to do is get the skills available to make sure that we have everything


Not just buying trains


The rail factory will be based at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, and maintenance depots will be constructed in Bristol, Swansea, London and Doncaster.


Existing depots throughout Great Britain will also be upgraded to maintain the fl eet.


To Hitachi, the fact that the manufacturing factory will be located in the UK is very important – although others describe it as an assembly plant, since many of the core components of the Super Express trains will be manufactured in Japan.


However, Jordan described the new UK facilities as a “stepping stone to globalisation”, and Hitachi has emphasised that the plant is not just about the IEP by any means – it will be a European manufacturing hub for the company.


It is the fi rst rail factory that Hitachi has invested in outside of Asia and forms part of its strategy to export to the western world over the next ten years.


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