The UK Government has reached an agreement with Alstom to begin production on a new fleet of high-speed tilting Pendolino trains and carriages on the busy West Coast Mainline.
As part of the agreement, Alstom will build 106 carriages, creating four new eleven-car trains, set to provide 7,420 additional seats on the rail route.
The new trains are set to be in full service by December 2012, with an option to procure a further 42 carriages by early 2013 to meet rising passenger demand, says the Department for Transport (DfT).
The work is in addition to an ВЈ8.8bn upgrade programme to cut journey times and deliver more frequent services, says the DfT.
The West Coast Mainline serves the busiest passenger routes in Britain; from London to Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.
By Ozge Ibrahim
