William Cook Rail has begun full production of a multi-million-pound export order at its Leeds facility — to supply ultra-high-specification cast steel components for Alstom Citadis Spirit light-rail vehicles (destined for service in Ottawa).

The company has created 20 new engineering jobs to help fulfil this order, taking the number of people employed at its Leeds factory to 180.

Sir Andrew Cook, chairman of William Cook (www.william-cook.co.uk), said: “We are proud to be flying the flag for world-class UK manufacturing and securing highly skilled jobs in the North of England.

“This represents a major order for our new £15 million rail plant in Leeds, and we are gearing up for an increase in activity, as the year progresses.”

The Citadis Spirit vehicles are designed for high-capacity commuter lines and can operate in the most extreme weather conditions.

Alstom has won contracts to supply 72 trains for Ottawa and 61 for Toronto.

The French company has sold more than 2,500 Citadis trains to more than 50 cities in 20 countries world-wide; it is also leading the consortium that is supplying the rolling stock and signalling, plus operation and maintenance services, for the driverless light metro system in Montreal.

Canada is spending C$3.6 billion to upgrade and improve public transit systems around the country.