Hitachi’s plans to build a factory and manufacturing base at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was given the go-ahead yesterday,

The £4.5bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP) deal secures at least 500 high-quality jobs in England’s poorest region, plus many thousands more in manufacturing and service supply chains.

The Hitachi-led Agility consortium will deliver at least 530 new rail carriages, bringing faster, more reliable journeys – and 11,000 extra seats – on key inter-city routes.

The factory will be built next year, to open in 2013.

Read the full story at northernecho.co.uk…