NEW trains for Transpennine Express are to be built by the Spanish firm of CAF, after no bids were received from a manufacturer with a British base.
TPE said the deal was 'great news', but the RMT said the decision to choose a Spanish builder was a 'sad indictment' of the railways.
The order for two new fleets is the second to be made by FirstGroup for Transpennine Express. It has already signed a contract for 19 five-car trains, to be supplied by Hitachi.
The latest deal completes First's rolling stock commitments on Transpennine and involves two more fleets, consisting of 12 five-car Civity UK intercity electric trains financed by Eversholt Rail and 13 five-car intercity trains financed by Beacon Rail Leasing.
The contracts are a second recent British win for CAF, which is already providing new trains for Northern. The firm has also built the new fleet of trams for Midland Metro in Birmingham.
Transpennine Express said the new fleets will provide an extra 13 million seats a year -- enough to fill Old Trafford stadium more than 150 times.
In total, 44 new trains are now set to come into service on Transpennine Express by 2019.
TPE managing director, Leo Goodwin said: “This is great news for our customers and we are delighted to have concluded the deals that will bring much needed and much wanted extra carriages across our network.
“This will enable us to transform the customer experience over the life of our franchise and our three new train fleets will form a key part of this improvement.
“Whether travelling to work, for business or leisure, our services are going to offer more seats, improved connectivity and a higher standard of comfort. The on-board experience will be second to none and we will provide customers with a real alternative to the car and congested road network.”
The news of the latest orders received an unenthusiastic reception from the RMT. The union's general secretary Mick Cash said: "It is a sad indictment of our railways that, at a time when our steel-making and manufacturing industries are in crisis, these new trains are not being built here in Britain.
"With the pressures on our railways, and the constant demand for extra capacity, the Government should embark on some joined up thinking and make serious efforts to use these opportunities to protect UK steel making and our manufacturing base."