A £1.2bn contract for new 140mph trains that will reduce journey times on key intercity routes has been announced by the Government.
Some 270 carriages will be manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail Europe at its new purpose-built factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.
The latest order for the trains, called the class 800 series, will be operational on the East Coast Main Line from 2019.
Capacity will be increased by 18%, train reliability will be improved, and journey times between London, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh will be cut by up to 18 minutes.
The investment - part of the Government's £5.8bn Intercity Express Programme (IEP) – will create 730 jobs.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "By signing this deal we have provided further proof of our determination to transform Britain's railways into a world-class operation through continued investment and state-of-the-art technology.
Hitachi has recently completed a deal to build its Newton Aycliffe factory and has said that it will be operational from 2015 with full production starting in 2016.
Last year the Department for Transport agreed an initial order for 596 carriages with Agility Trains, a consortium of Hitachi and John Laing.
As well as building the new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, Hitachi is also planning to construct maintenance depots in Bristol, Swansea, west London and Doncaster, and will upgrade existing maintenance depots throughout Britain to service the class 800 series trains.
Hitachi Rail Europe's executive chairman and chief executive Alistair Dormer said: "This order is a tremendous boost for Hitachi Rail Europe's new factory with its 730 future employees in County Durham and for the British supply chain."
The first batch of class 800s will enter service on the Great Western Main Line in 2017 and on the East Coast Main Line in 2018.
Meanwhile, a UK-based company recently beaten by Germany to a big trainmaking contract has been selected to supply electric trains in a £180m deal.
The Southern train operating company said it had chosen Derby-based Bombardier to supply 116 electric rolling stock vehicles.
The order has the provision for an extra 140 vehicles which can be called in the event that further investment opportunities are identified, bringing the potential total order value up to around £385m.
When the contract is placed, the new trains will be used initially on the north-south, cross-London Thameslink Route.
"The Government has worked closely with Southern to enable this critical stage of the project to be reached and I look forward to these trains being delivered onto the network."
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