It was great to be back on the press circuit a week ago covering the good news story of Newton Aycliffe's Hitachi Rail Plant receiving further investment to build 14 new trains. What's more, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer was in attendance to support the announcement.
The factory had fallen under a cloud of uncertainty over the last few months with gaps in its order book. Hundreds of jobs at stake not just in the train-building factory itself, but within the chain of suppliers based in the North East who contribute to the production of the rolling stock. But, with the declaring of a £500 million deal, the immediate future of the Hitachi Rail Plant would appear to be safe.
With the Prime Minister and new Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander on site, a whole host of press/media advisors from the Labour Party, Downing Street and the rail plant itself were present. In addition, representatives from the written press, tv and radio were at hand to report. Negotiating the red tape, and dos/don'ts of such a visit is often half the battle and this was no exception. Plant workers had been organised in a semi-circle between two carriages with a small gap left free for camera operators such as myself to shoot images and footage unobstructed of the political top dogs as they addressed those gathered.
Further one on one interviews with the different sections of the media and some more posed set-up shots including the Prime Minister holding a copy of The Northern Echo (who had launched a campaign to save the plant in March 2024) were permitted before the visit was wrapped up. Short and sweet, yes, but, hopefully an important day in the history of a region which is heavily associated with the railway industry.
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