Five companies shortlisted to build trains for HS2

Rail minister Paul Maynard said the contract will create thousands of jobs and apprenticeships

The first phase of the high speed railway will open between London and Birmingham (Reuters)

Five companies have been shortlisted to build 225mph trains for HS2.

Rail minister Paul Maynard said the £2.75bn contract will create "thousands of skilled British jobs and apprenticeships".

The companies vying for the right to design, build and maintain at least 54 new high-speed trains are Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation UK, Hitachi Rail Europe, Patentes Talgo and Siemens.

The award of train-building contracts to foreign firms with overseas manufacturing plants has been criticised in recent years.

In 2011, Germany-based Siemens was handed a £1.6bn deal to build trains for London's Thameslink, and last year Spanish company CAF won a £490m contract to manufacture trains for Arriva Rail North.

Some of the entries shortlisted by HS2 already have UK production lines.

Hitachi's manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is building more than 100 Intercity Express trains for the Great Western and East Coast lines over the next three years.

Earlier this year Derby's Bombardier secured a multimillion-pound investment to build 90 new trains for South Western Railway services.

Alstom is developing its new train technology and manufacturing facility in Widnes, Cheshire.

Spanish manufacturer Talgo last month unveiled a plan to build a factory in the UK and has already visited potential locations in Leeds and Liverpool.

Phase 1 of the £55.7bn high-speed railway will open between London and Birmingham in December 2026.

The new trains will also serve destinations on conventional lines beyond the core HS2 network, including York, Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

They will be expected to meet the highest international standards for noise reduction and environmental sustainability.

Mr Maynard said: "HS2 will see some of the world's fastest trains connecting our great cities across the North and Midlands, creating an economy that works for everyone.

"But announcements like this show how the benefits of HS2 will resonate far beyond the opening of the new railway. HS2's legacy of jobs and skills is already being created."

The contract is expected to be awarded in late 2019.

HS2 Ltd managing director Chris Rayner described the shortlist as "a strong line-up of experienced hi-tech manufacturing and design talent".

He said: "Together with the successful bidder, HS2 will deliver some of the world's most advanced rolling stock, engineered to provide seamless, accessible, fast and reliable journeys.

"Starting from 2026, our trains will be used by tens of thousands of people every day, transforming links across the Midlands and the North and providing much-needed extra capacity between Britain's major cities."

A second Y-shaped phase of HS2 will launch in two stages.

Phase 2a from the West Midlands to Crewe will begin in 2027, followed by Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester, and Birmingham to Leeds, in 2033.

PA