Newcastle-headquartered bus and rail giant Go-Ahead Group has announced a £500 million investment to decarbonise its fleet.

The investment is set to fund the manufacturing of up to 1,200 new zero emission buses over the next three years.

The investment will accelerate the transition to greener buses across the UK including in Plymouth, Gloucestershire, East Yorkshire, London and the Isle of Wight.

Go-Ahead Group is owned by the Australia-based transport company Kinetic Group (51%) and Spanish transport infrastructure company Globalvia (49%).

The investment will include the creation of a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with Northern Ireland-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus.

On top of directly supporting 500 manufacturing jobs, the £500 million investment for Wrightbus will also support an additional 2,000 jobs across the wider UK supply chain by 2026.

Go-Ahead Bus CEO Matt Carney said: “This multi-million pound investment and partnership with Wrightbus will accelerate the transition to zero-emission fleet across the UK.

“We are proud to be working in partnership with the UK government and local authorities to deliver transformational environmental change for communities, while supporting UK jobs and the growth of the country’s supply chain. “

UK Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “The number one mission of this government is growing the economy. The half a billion pounds Go Ahead is announcing today shows the confidence industry has in investing in the UK.

“This announcement will see communities across the country benefit from brand new, state-of-the-art green buses – which will deliver cleaner air and better journeys.

“We’re creating the right conditions for businesses to flourish, so we can support jobs and accelerate towards decarbonising the transport sector.”