Representatives from Hitachi rail were present at a meeting the Secretary of State held with TransPennine Express, and relevant stakeholders, to discuss TransPennine Expressâ recent poor performance. The facility at Newton Aycliffe was not discussed as it was not part of the agenda. Officials from the Department regularly engage with representatives from Hitachi on a number of matters including current and future projects. The Minister for Business & Industry met with the MP for Sedgefield, the constituency in which Hitachi Railâs factory in Newton Aycliffe is situated, on 14th January. At that meeting the Minister for Business & Industry was informed that a 45 day consultation period is currently underway, and while the exact numbers wonât be known until late February or early March, understands that some may be redeployed elsewhere in Hitachi Rail Limited (HRL). The Minister welcomed HRLâs decision to invest Â£8.5m in additional capability in Newton Aycliffe to make the plant more competitive and sustainable in the long term, as this demonstrates the companyâs long term commitment to the North East. BEIS officials have been in close contact with HRL senior management at Newton Aycliffe through the last year over investment in the plant to increase capability and, following the 14th January meeting, have fed back directly to HRL that the Minister would welcome a meeting with the companyâs representatives.