Council welcomes announcement that Crewe will play a key role in building high-speed trains

December 14, 2021

The Cheshire East Council welcomed the announcement that Crewe will play a key role in building the HS2 high-speed train fleet.

HS2 Ltd has confirmed that it has awarded Alstom and Hitachi Rail the contract to build the fleet at their factories in County Durham, Derby and Crewe.

As part of this, all the bogies (which house the axles of the trains) will be both assembled and serviced at Alstom’s site in Crewe – the first time since 2004 that both works have been carried out in the UK.

Hitachi / Alstom JV estimates the award could boost the economy by more than £ 157million per contract year and support 2,500 jobs across the UK, including opportunities for apprentices and graduates.

Councilor Craig Browne, deputy head of the Cheshire East Council and chairman of its highways and transport committee, said: Supported by this contract will be opportunities for people in the city and across the borough.

“Crewe already has an undeniably rich railway heritage, but news like this will ensure that its status as the the railway city is cemented for generations to come.

“And, as we await further information on the competition to find a national seat for the new public body Great British Railways, so that we can move our offering forward, this announcement also reinforces our belief that Crewe is absolutely the best.” and the perfect location for it. “