RAILWAY engineer Alstom is to build a £20 million new technology centre in Widnes, creating up to 600 jobs.

The company has won planning permission from Halton Council to acquire 30 acres of land near Halebank Road.

Work on the site is expected to start before the summer and construction will begin later this year.

Alstom plans to build a world-class training facility, the North West Transport Training Academy to open in autumn 2017.

It will act as a UK centre for research and development, providing training in engineering, manufacturing, project management and other vital transport sector skills, upskilling the existing workforce as well as supporting apprentices and new graduates for the rail industry across the north west.

In the immediate future, Alstom will use the centre to carry out essential maintenance work.

“This new centre is part of our global strategy to grow our service activities by localising our operations close to our customers,” said Andreas Knitter, Alstom’s senior vice president for Europe.

“It allows us to react much more quickly to growth in local markets.

“The UK is one of the most exciting places in the world for train companies like Alstom to do business, so it’s important that we run the most efficient operation possible through modern facilities with the latest technology.”

Alstom says the site is ideally located as a north west logistics hub, close to to ports, railheads, motorways and airports.

The west coast main line makes it easier to move trains and train parts to the site.

Alstom hopes to offer a co-location space for its suppliers which would help to drive further efficiencies in its UK operations.

The Widnes site will have a focus on reliable, low carbon power sources, while the facility will be built and run to minimise impact on local residents.

Alstom has an objective of reducing the energy intensity of its sites by 10 per cent by 2020.

Alstom has been at the heart of the UK’s rail industry for more than 80 years, having built around a third of the UK’s rail vehicles and around half of the trains currently running on the London Underground.

Today Alstom employs a growing workforce of 3,200 people at 12 industrial sites in the UK delivering services to operators, signalling equipment and railway infrastructure.