Wales has placed an £800 million order for 148 trains, according to the BBC.
77 of the trains will be made by Spanish firm CAF – a preferred bidder to supply trains for Wales and the Borders rail franchise. 71 will be supplied by Swiss-headquartered Stadler.
Earlier this year, the Welsh Government awarded the contract to run the rail franchise to KeloisAmey for 15 years from October this year.
CAF will build its 77 units at its new facility at the Celtic Business Park in Newport, South Wales, which is scheduled for completion in Autumn 2018. The Newport facility is a crucial part of CAF’s plans to grow the UK side of its business. The factory will create 300 new jobs and boost the wider UK rail industry supply chain as the company plans to develop a 'cluster' of local and national companies to supply components for the manufacture of its trains.
CAF is investing £30m to get the new factory up and running and will receive significant grant support from the Welsh Government’s Inward Investment Programme.
