Building work will start on site in Newton Aycliffe later this year with completion scheduled in mid 2015.

Around 150 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

Hitachi Rail Europe is working with developer Merchant Place Developments who are leading the project to build and fit out the factory.

Shepherd will run the job from its Darlington office.

Mark Perkins, Chief Executive for Shepherd Group Built Environment, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract to build this landmark development in the North East, which will have a momentous effect on the prosperity of the region, as the biggest investment into the area for more than 20 years.”

“Shepherd invested a vast amount of time and research carefully gathering insight into Hitachi’s specific requirements before proposing exactly how we would deliver such a large and complex scheme, which meant gaining a comprehensive understanding of what the facility has to achieve and, of course, Hitachi’s exceptional standards in building trains.

“Our integrated supply chain incorporating Shepherd Construction, as well as Shepherd Engineering Services (SES), means we can offer an end-to-end approach based on a responsive and adaptive technical authority which I am confident will serve to enable Hitachi’s ambitious business plan on this development. We are very much looking forward to starting work later this year.”

New factory facts and figures:

• The factory area (43,000 sqm) is equivalent to over six football pitches, or slightly less than twice the size of Trafalgar Square.
• The volume of concrete required for the site would fill an Olympic-sized pool 6 ½ times (16,100m3).
• There is around 20 km of pipework and electrical conduit, which if laid out, would stretch from the site to Durham City Centre.
• There is around 100 km of cable, which if laid out, would stretch from the site to Alnwick Castle.
• Over 2,000 tonnes of steel will be used in the building.