Agility Trains has been selected as the preferred bidder for a £7.5bn contract to build and maintain a fleet of new Super Express trains for the Great Western and East Coast main lines. These will replace existing high speed trains which are 20-30 years old.
Agility - a British-led consortium comprising of John Laing, Hitachi and Barclays - will make a significant inward investment as part of this contract. They will build a new train manufacturing plant in the UK, as well as depots in Bristol, Reading, Doncaster, Leeds and west London with upgrades to existing depots throughout Great Britain. This will create or safeguard some 12,500 manufacturing jobs in these regions.
Trains will enter service in 2015, linking London with Bristol and South Wales.
Government rail experts working alongside the rail industry have created a new specification for these trains that will offer more seats, more reliable services and reduced journey times, knocking 10 minutes off the journey time between Bristol and London.
