Rolling-stock specialist Vivarail (www.vivarail.co.uk) is to open a production facility on the Spectrum Business Park in County Durham this month and create 30 specialist engineering jobs over the next three years.

Attracted by the region’s pool of highly skilled labour, the company will initially use the plant to make the power-packs and wiring looms for refurbished trains that previously ran on the London Underground network.

Chief executive Adrian Shooter, a former chairman of Chiltern Railways, said: “As Vivarail looked to expand and open a new site, the North East was a very attractive location for us.

“The region already has a strong rail industry; we want to tap into this and buy locally where we can, plus we also have the opportunity to expand further here, depending on the speed and scale of future orders.”

Vivarail was formed by Mr Shooter in 2012 to buy old D78 metro stock from the London Underground and transform the carriages into ‘state of the art’ Class 230 passenger trains.

It retains the bodyshell and bogies of the original vehicles, while adding modern engines and cutting-edge technology to create eco-friendly trains with lower fuel consumption.

Three different types of power-pack will be assembled at the new plant, including a battery-only system currently being developed with a £640,000 grant from Innovate UK.