Keir Starmer has vowed Labour will continue to “fight” for the future of train building in the North East, after a £500 million deal was struck to help safeguard Hitachi Rail’s County Durham factory.
After months of uncertainty surrounding the Newton Aycliffe Hitachi plant, it was announced on Friday that a contract had been agreed to build new carriages for the FirstGroup. The deal was hailed as a moment of celebration for the site’s 750-strong workforce, following fears that a looming gap in production could jeopardise their jobs.
But there was more doubt cast over the factory’s status when the Japanese firm’s chair was quoted in the Financial Times warning that its Newton Aycliffe operations could yet be at risk if the Government did not revive the northern leg of HS2, which was scrapped by Rishi Sunak last year. During a Q&A session with Hitachi staff at the factory on Friday afternoon, the Prime Minister called their work “world class” and said he hoped that Government plans to nationalise rail services would provide greater control over the train building industry’s future.
Sir Keir acknowledged that, despite the new contract, there would still be a gap in production at the plant – but said this was “smaller and more manageable” than had been feared previously and that talks were under way to deal with it. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) afterwards, the PM vowed to keep working with Hitachi to ensure continuity at the plant and to deliver a long-term strategy on new contracts that would help avoid the anxiety of recent months.
Addressing the calls from Toshiaki Higashihara to build the high-speed line between Birmingham and Manchester, Sir Keir accused the Tories of having “made a complete mess of HS2”. He said: “It was far too delayed, massively over budget, and that means the only commitment we have been able to make is to the leg between London and Birmingham. Obviously that is a top priority that we are working hard on.
“We will look strategically across the country in terms of our transport infrastructure and that involves looking much more widely than we have up until now and we will work with Hitachi on this, in the same spirit we worked on this deal. I give that assurance to the workforce here in the way I did when I was last here.”
The Prime Minister added: “Now we have a Government that wants to get on the pitch and actually fight for these jobs, not sit it out and let the market decide. We are actively involved. I can’t say anymore than that we will do everything we can to make sure there is that continuity there, there are jobs there, and we support the skills and development of the skills here.
“That is what I did last time, we will continue in that way, and I am glad on this occasion that the deal is over the line. I know it is a huge relief for the workforce here.”
(Image: ChronicleLive / Craig Connor)
The deal between FirstGroup, Hitachi and Angel Trains is for 14 new trains, with the option for a further 13, which will be used on Lumo services, Hull Trains, and a new route between London and Carmarthen. Heidi Alexander, who joined Sir Keir on Friday’s visit after replacing Louise Haigh as transport secretary last week, said that the Government had a pipeline of further train building plans on networks including Southeastern and Transpennine.
Jim Brewin, Hitachi Rail’s chief director in the UK and Ireland, called Friday’s announcement a “positive step in the right direction” and praised staff for being “very patient in a time of uncertainty”. Production of the trains is expected to begin in 12 to 18 months’ time and Mr Brewin confirmed that there remains an expected gap in work around 2026.
Hitachi, through a joint venture with French company Alstom, has an order to build 54 trains that will serve the southern section of HS2 but Mr Higashihara warned that a failure to build the northern leg was “going to be a problem”. “If [the northern leg] stays cancelled, then the volume of work at Newton Aycliffe goes down,” he said, “so the issue is rising in terms of the extent to which we must think about manpower.”
Asked if HS2’s northern leg was necessary for the future of the County Durham factory, Mr Brewin told the LDRS: “If you look at it from the principle of the size of Hitachi as an organisation, we have a chairman who is invested and passionate about what we are trying to achieve, which for me is absolutely brilliant. We are contracted to deliver phase one of HS2, we are a very proud partner of HS2 and we are looking forward to bringing in the trains we are contracted to deliver.”
North East mayor Kim McGuinness said she was “confident that the gaps in the procurement processes can be filled” and the region’s proud railway heritage protected.
She added: “We have heard from the transport secretary and the Prime Minister today that there is a real commitment from Government to do that and a commitment to the future not only of this place, but this industry and the region. I will never stop fighting for that.”
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/keir-starmer-hitachi-rail-durham-30533446
