Jobs will be created or safeguarded and rail travel in East Anglia will be improved thanks to a new agreement between the Department for Transport and National Express East Anglia (NXEA), Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced today.

Government funding is being used to allow NXEA to increase their fleet by 188 more carriages, of which 120 will be newly built by train manufacturer Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd, safeguarding jobs at their Derby plant.

Clacton Depot in Essex is brought back into use as a maintenance facility to cope with the enlarged fleet. Altogether, NXEA is expected to take on more than 100 additional staff whilst the Infrastructure improvements to support longer trains will also help to safeguard jobs with Network Rail.

Geoff Hoon said: "This is one of the biggest changes to have been negotiated to an existing franchise since rail privatisation with the operator National Express East Anglia playing a key role in developing these plans, which are a mark of our continued commitment to invest in long term projects to improve the railways.

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"This will be of major benefit to passengers in terms of reducing over-crowding, while Bombardier's success will help safeguard UK manufacturing jobs and the expansion of the fleet will create welcomed job opportunities with NXEA."

The 188 carriages, representing a 17 per cent increase in the NXEA fleet, will be introduced on the network to boost the Stansted Express route, and commuter services in and out of London Liverpool Street.

The first additional capacity will be introduced in December 2009 and, once all improvements are in place by December 2011, approximately 11,000 extra seats will be provided into Liverpool Street in the three hour morning peak significantly reducing the level of crowding. The additional trains will also help provide capacity for the London Olympics at Stratford in 2012.

An order worth approximately £155m for 120 new carriages from Derby based train manufacturer Bombardier is at the heart of the improved services.

These new trains will principally be used on the Stansted Express services, with the fleet currently on that route re-deployed elsewhere to provide longer trains. The new trains will also provide some commuter services from Cambridge. A further 68 carriages will be added to the fleet from the London Midland franchise.

(JM/BMcC)