Labour’s new transport secretary will sit down with Hitachi officials on Wednesday to discuss the future of the trainbuilder’s under-threat County Durham factory.

Louise Haigh is due to meet with bosses from the Japanese manufacturing giant, as uncertainty continues to surround the firm’s Newton Aycliffe operation. There have been serious concerns for months about the plant, which employs around 750 people but where jobs have been put at risk by a looming production gap.

Labour had pledged before and during the general election campaign that it would act to save the factory once in power, with Ms Haigh having claimed that the previous Tory government could secure the site’s future “with the stroke of a pen” by extending existing Hitachi contracts. However, Sir Keir Starmer’s new administration has yet to enact measures to support Hitachi following Labour’s landslide election victory on July 4 despite the Department for Transport saying it was "urgently exploring options".

Ahead of the meeting in London, described as effectively an introductory meeting now that Ms Haigh is in her new post, the transport secretary insisted that she would “work swiftly with Hitachi” to protect jobs. The Sheffield Heeley MP, who has visited the Newton Aycliffe factory this year, said: “I am absolutely committed to supporting rail manufacturing in the U.K. and developing a long term strategy to secure the industry's sustainable future.

“We know how important rail manufacturing is to this region, which is why this Government won’t sit on our hands. The Department for Transport will work swiftly with Hitachi over the coming months on options to safeguard jobs and secure a sustainable future for manufacturing at Newton Aycliffe.”

Labour has previously said it would make variations to Hitachi’s current contracts to head off the looming production gap, with work having been expected to decline from this October, as well as bringing forward new procurement opportunities. Saving the Hitachi factory was top of a wishlist sent by North East mayor Kim McGuinness to Sir Keir after the election, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves said during a visit to the Treasury campus in Darlington recently that she was “absolutely determined to keep those good jobs at Hitachi”.

Hitachi bosses said earlier this month that they “look forward to meeting with the new government very soon to assess available solutions to maintain jobs and skills at Newton Aycliffe”.

Rail minister Lord Hendy wrote this week in a letter to local MPs, including newly-elected Mark Ferguson, Sam Rushworth, and Alan Strickland, that the new government would "seek to end the current boom-and-bust cycle" in train production with a long-term strategy. He added: "I share your concersn about the situation currently facing Hitachi's train manufacturing workforce in Newton Aycliffe. As you know, we are committed to protecting UK rail manufacturing jobs and to securing a long-term sustainable future for Newton Aycliffe, and we are urgently exploring options to support jobs at Newton Aycliffe."