An important rail maintenance facility is coming to Crewe in 2023 - helping to produce a part of 54 high-speed trains for HS2 coming within the next decade.

In December 2021, it was announced all the bogies, which house the train's wheel sets - will be assembled and maintained at Alstom Crewe.

Part of a £2 billion contact between Hitachi and Alstom, the building of the 225mph trains will be built in County Durham - before being finished and tested in Crewe and Derby.

In December 2021, it was announced all the bogies, which house the train's wheel sets - will be assembled and maintained at Alstom Crewe (HS2).

This week, Alstom, asked Crewe and Nantwich MP, Dr Kieran Mullan, to break ground on the facility arriving next year.

From March 2023, the maintenance of the Bogies and Traction Motors of the Class 390 Pendolinos, ran by Avanti West Coast on the West Coast Mainline, will be carried out in Crewe.

This has traditionally been done at Longsight and Widnes.

The Crewe MP joined Services UK Managing Director, Peter Broadley and Project Director Parts, Overhaul & Modernisation, Steve Hadfield, for a ceremonial 'ground breaking' of the new facility.

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They part demolished a wall - paving the way for the relocation.

The Crewe works site has not been used for the manufacture of new trains since the early 1990s (Dr Kieran Mullan).

Dr Mullan made an announcement on social media - expressing his delight at the news.

He said: "Crewe has a rich rail heritage and history, but also a bright rail future.

"The moving of the maintenance facility for the Pendolinos is just one of the ways in which the rail industry is looking towards Crewe.

"We also have HS2, and all the benefits that this investment will bring.

"The old Crewe Works site will also be making the bogies for the new HS2 trains.

"Our campaign for Crewe to become the home of Great British Railways is also in its final stages, with an announcement of the winner expected soon."

It is expected the first HS2 train will roll off the production line in 2027 (Wikimedia Commons).

The Crewe works site has not been used for the manufacture of new trains since the early 1990s.

It is expected the first HS2 train will roll off the production line in 2027.