Hitachi (www.hitachi.co.uk) is to create 150 more jobs at its manufacturing facility at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, where trains are built that will run on lines in England and Scotland. The first 100mph commuter trains for ScotRail are due to begin operating between Edinburgh and Glasgow late next year.

A spokesman said work on the ScotRail fleet will be carried out alongside work on new rolling stock for the East Coast and Great Western lines.

The spokesman added: “This is great news for the North East. These new fixed-term roles will give us the flexibility we need to deliver the new contracts that we have won since the Newton Aycliffe site was opened last September. We hope that around a third of these new positions will be apprenticeships, giving young people a tremendous opportunity to start a career in engineering and gain valuable skills.”

The Newton Aycliffe plant currently employs about 500 people; it is expected to employ almost 900 people when it reaches full capacity next year.