The Government has given its clearest indication yet that it will fight for the future of a County Durham train building factory where hundreds of jobs are on the line.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has said her officials are working “at pace” on a suite of options to save jobs at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant as it faces an orders crisis.

Louise Haigh was writing to North East MPs to provide an update, following a meeting last week with the firm's executives after months of uncertainty under the previous Conservative administration.

The future of 750 people in work on-site, alongside another 1,400 jobs indirectly, at stake.

Earlier this year pressure was brought on the then Conservative Government to act, led by The Northern Echo which campaigned to bring the plant to the region in the first place.(Image: CHRIS BOOTH)

Concerns had been growing since Hitachi bosses revealed in February they had failed to reach an agreement with the Government to keep their order books full.

The factory, which opened in 2015, is making its final trains for Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway.

Ministers told Hitachi they had no plans to order more trains to run on the West Coast mainline, which the firm saw as the only viable way to plug the production gap.

Ms Haigh had said in the runup to the election "with the stroke of a pen" the Government could vary the existing contracts to keep the factory open.Alan Strickland MP for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor Alan Strickland MP for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

In a letter to North East MPs, Ms Haigh wrote: "I share your concerns about the current production gap and the impact this could have on the workforce at the site and the local supply chain.

"I was clear before the election that there must be an end to the assumed boom and bust in rail manufacturing and I am committed to producing an industrial strategy for the sector which flattens the order curve and delivers the stability necessary to support job skills and the wider supply chain."

She added: "Upon taking office as Secretary of State one of my first requests was to see the options to address the production gap at Newton Aycliffe and on July 24 I met with Hitachi and officials to kick start a process of work on those options.

"Officials are now working at pace on a suite of potential options to support the retention of jobs and skills at Newton Aycliffe and will continue to engage with Hitachi in this process as necessary.

"Officials have confirmed to me that they will engage, as appropriate, with all stakeholders, including the train operators and the owners of the relevant rolling stock."

Ms Haigh said she was pleased to hear from Hitachi about the steps they are taking to support their workforce including "through identifying work that can be carried out at Newton Aycliffe and pursuing upcoming tenders through the open market".

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She said: "The Government is absolutely committed to working with Hitachi on the various options that could bring work to the site and I will continue to keep you updated as that process continues."

Alan Strickland MP for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor said: “I have been working hard with Hitachi to safeguard the future of the Newton Aycliffe plant. I led a delegation of North East MPs to the factory and this week we met the Transport Secretary in Parliament. 

"I’m pushing for all options to secure the 700 jobs to be explored”.