Hitachi has announced that it is to build its new fleet of intercity trains for Great Western Railway (GWR) in Italy.

The 29 AT300 trains will be built at its recently acquired site in Pistoia.

Hitachi had planned to manufacture the GWR fleet at its Kasado works in Japan rather than at its facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, where it is delivering new electric and bi-mode vehicles for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP).

In November, Hitachi confirmed its takeover of Italian manufacturer AnsaldoBreda, which included the acquisition of production facilities in Naples, Reggio Calabria and Pistoia.

The first three pre-series AT300 trains will be built at Kasado. Final production of the vehicles will then move to Italy, although components such as car body panels, traction packages and HVAC systems will continue to be supplied from Japan.

The mix of nine and five car bi-mode trains will operate services between London Paddington and the West Country locations of Plymouth and Penzance.

Maurizio Manfellotto, chief executive of Hitachi Rail Italy, said: “Hitachi Rail Italy is delighted to be selected to produce this fleet of prestigious new trains, which will bring new levels of speed and experience to fare-paying customers travelling between London and the West Country.

“A team from Great Western Railway and Eversholt Rail, GWR’s finance partner for the new trains, recently visited HRI’s manufacturing facilities in Pistoia and have been impressed with the quality of engineering and production.

“This production agreement for GWR is a further endorsement of Hitachi Rail Italy’s train manufacturing excellence following the acquisition by Hitachi.

“We are hugely excited by this and the future opportunities that we are now able to create for our people in Italy as part of a major global force in rail manufacturing, and we are highly focused on delivering for the customer.”

Mark Hopwood, managing director of Great Western Railway, said: “The AT300 trains are a key cornerstone of our strategy to deliver the biggest upgrade in a generation across the Great Western network, bringing more seats, and faster, more frequent services for our customers between London and the south west.

“Hitachi Rail Italy has a fantastic pedigree in building and delivering world class high-speed trains on time and on budget, and we are delighted to be working with them on this project.”

Clarification: The 29 AT300 units were originally to be built at Hitachi’s Kasado works, with Newton Aycliffe focussing on IEP and the delivery of 70 EMUs for Abellio ScotRail.