THE president of Japanese manufacturer Hitachi has personally joined the campaign to bring train-building back to the Birthplace of the Railways, it was revealed yesterday.

Hiroaki Nakanishi has lobbied Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond to secure the go-ahead for a factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, creating up to 800 jobs directly and about 7,000 more in the supply chain.

The InterCity Express Programme (IEP) – dubbed the “New Nissan” because of its vital importance to the region’s economic future – is on hold, pending the Government’s ultra-tough spending review.

Nevertheless, pressure is growing on ministers to recognise the project is about more than simply replacing ageing Seventies rolling stock, important though that issue is.

Mr Hammond revealed during questions in the Commons that the Japanese ambassador to the UK had raised the subject.

Agreeing to Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson’s request for him to meet a delegation of North- East MPs and business leaders, Mr Hammond said of the lobbying from Japan: “They forcefully made the same points as you.”

Later, during an interview with The Northern Echo, the Transport Secretary hinted at a bright future for train building, even if the IEP projects fall victim to the spending axe.

Mr Hammond said; “Hitachi is committed to the UK infrastructure market. It’s not just the IEP programme – they are also potential bidders in CrossRail [in London] and HS2 [high-speed rail].

“In my meetings with Hitachi, with the Japanese ambassador, with the British ambassador to Tokyo – all of whom are very committed to this issue – I gained a very strong impression that Hitachi sees a market opportunity in the UK, in the longterm.”

However, asked if those other projects would also involve Hitachi building a factory at Amazon Park, in Newton Aycliffe, Mr Hammond said: “I don’t know that we got into that level of detail.”

Mr Hammond also declined to promise that his decision would take into account David Cameron’s famous pledge to “rebalance” the North-East economy away from the public sector.

Instead, it will be based on a “rigorous model” that predicts the overall economic benefits to the nation from spending huge sums of public money.

Business groups, trade unions and council leaders have all joined The Northern Echo’s “Back on Track”

campaign, calling for the factory to construct the next generation of rolling stock for Britain’s railways, including the East Coast Main Line.

During transport questions in the Commons, Mr Wilson said: “It would be one of the biggest investments in the North-East since Nissan, creating hundreds of jobs there and thousands in the manufacturing supply chain.”

In the interview, Mr Hammond promised a “clear view” by the end of next month on whether the proposed high-speed rail network would be a “Y-shape”, with twin lines north of Birmingham, to Manchester and Leeds. A review is still considering an “S-shape” – a single line, across the Pennines from Manchester to Leeds – although the idea has been rubbished by rail experts.

Mr Hammond also refused to rule out train fare increases of up to ten per cent in January, suggesting that may be the only way to bring in extra carriages.