Huntingdon firm TRB Lightweight Structures seals £13.5m Hitachi rail contract

A Huntingdon business has secured a £13.5million contract with Hitachi.

TRB Lightweight Structures won the contract to design and manufacture partitions, toilet panels and bulk storage partitions for Hitachi’s Class 800/801 trains for the Intercity Express Programme.

Hitachi has set up a manufacturing site in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, after winning the £1.2billion contract to provide 30 trains for use on the East Coast Mainline by 2019.

The Clifton Road business has already designed, manufactured and delivered more than 200 products to Japan for fitting on prototype trains.

Hitachi’s procurement director Jamie Foster said: ”With the Class 800/801 trains, we aim to set the standard for design, quality, and weight savings. The TRB engineers and designers have risen to these challenges and are helping us meet the demands of the programme.

“Hitachi’s global vision recognises the strategic importance of the UK and we are delighted to be working with TRB Lightweight Structures.”

Andrew Dugmore, TRB president said: “This project is a collaboration between TRB Lightweight Structures, Hitachi Rail Europe and their counterparts in Japan. It is truly gratifying to collaborate on this important project.”