Staffordshire firm's new design puts HS2 bullet train on track
This exclusive image shows how 250mph high speed 'bullet trains' could look if Staffordshire engineering firm Alstom wins a slice of the controversial £8 billion HS2 contracts.
The firm, which employs 2,000 workers in Stafford, plans to launch a bid to build 80 shuttle-style trains which could spark a jobs surge.
The company already supplies the high speed trains for the French TGV and Italian AGV services and could base a new manufacturing hub in the Midlands – creating up to 500 highly-skilled engineering jobs.
Maintenance depots could see hundreds more posts created along the line in the region, bosses said today.
It comes as major business leaders in the Black Country pledged to back the controversial £42.6bn scheme – despite mounting opposition to the project amid concerns over escalating costs, devastation to rural Staffordshire and the validity of the business case which has been put forward.
Bidding for the train contracts is still several years away.
Alstom's Jonathan Smith said: "It will not only create jobs but it will make travel between our cities easier. It's not a case of the benefit will just be where the stations are – it should be a case that it benefits a much wider area with better links from HS2 to other towns and cities."
Supporters say 9,000 construction jobs and 1,400 operation and maintenance roles would be created to build and run the line with a further 30,000 jobs created by regeneration.
