TransPennine Express's £230m north England and Scotland rail deal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36360581

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A £230m deal for 25 new trains to serve the north of England and Scotland has been announced by rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE).

It is part of a plan for two fleets, which will provide 125 carriages made up of electric and InterCity trains.

The carriages are being built in Spain after no UK manufacturer took part in the tender process, TPE said.

They will operate between Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh and are due to be delivered by 2019.

They are to be built by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), and will feature 12 five-carriage electric trains and 13 five-car InterCity carriages.

'Extra 13m seats'

The Class 68 diesel locomotives will haul the new InterCity carriages between Liverpool and Newcastle.

Earlier this year, it was announced another 95 carriages will be built by Hitachi Rail Europe.

TPE said it means more services will operate with at least five carriages as opposed to the current three, providing an extra 13 million seats a year.

Managing Director, Leo Goodwin said: "We are delighted to have concluded the deals that will bring much needed and much wanted extra carriages across our network."

CAF already provides trains for other operators across Europe and is currently manufacturing fleets for the Caledonian Sleeper and Arriva Northern franchises.

All the new trains will be air-conditioned, and have Wi-Fi and servers to enable passengers to stream TV shows and films.

Councillor Liam Robinson, chair of the Rail North Limited Board, said: "The capacity improvement on state of the art, intercity standard trains is exactly what is needed and will help drive the North forward."