COUNCIL chiefs are to urge bosses at a Japan-based company to build a train manufacturing plant in North Yorkshire.

Mark Crane, leader of Selby District Council, said the authority would do its best to persuade Hitachi Rail Group (HRG) to choose the former Gascoigne Wood colliery as the location for its planned rolling stock manufacturing and assembly plant.

The news comes after the Agility Trains consortium, which includes Hitachi, won the bid for a £7.5 billion contract to build and maintain a fleet of new Super Express trains for the Great Western and East Coast main lines. These will replace existing high speed trains that are 20 to 30 years old.

HRG, which has short-listed five sites for the facility, says it will initially take on 200 workers at the chosen location, with the number potentially rising to 500 depending on the extent of the contract.

Coun Crane said: “If Hitachi does come to Gascoigne Wood I think it’ll bring a good number of well-paid jobs to the area, creating employment and prosperity for the district. We’ve got a meeting set up with Hitachi and we’ll look to work positively with them to encourage them to come to Gascoigne Wood.”

HRG revealed it visited Gascoigne Wood on Friday.

A company spokeswoman said: “We’re in the initial stages of evaluating and making contact with local authorities to really find a good way to make a decision about which of the sites is the most appropriate one for our use.”

The firm is also considering Sheffield International Rail Terminal, two sites in the East Midlands and one in Gateshead as the base for the plant.

A final decision on the location is expected to be made at the end of the year.