Bombardier signs US$558M contract with Transport for London

BERLIN—Bombardier’s rail division is continuing its winning ways. The company has signed two contracts with Transport for London to build and maintain 45 four-car new electric multiple units for the UK city’s LOTRAIN project.

The first contract is a Manufacturing and Supply Agreement covering the design, manufacture, commissioning and entry into service of 180 new vehicles, and the second is a 35-year Train Services Agreement, wherein the company will provide maintenance for the new vehicles.

Together the contracts are valued at approximately 358-million pounds, or US$558-million. In addition to the base contracts, the contracts also include an option for up to 24 additional trains and another to extend the maintenance support for five-years.

“These important contracts demonstrate TfL’s continued confidence in our ability to provide high quality transportation products and services,” Per Allmer, President, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, Bombardier Transportation, said. “We look forward to not only delivering these new trains for TfL, but also providing ongoing maintenance and technical support.”

The new trains will have similar features to the existing London Overground fleet, which was also manufactured by Bombardier. They will include walk-through carriages, air-conditioning and improved accessibility. The company said the “next-generation” AVENTRA trains will feature an innovative design with optimised performance, including reduced weight, energy consumption, maintenance costs and high reliability, providing substantial benefits to both TfL and its passengers traveling on key London Overground routes, including the newly acquired West Anglia Inner Metro Service.

The vehicles will be built in Derby and this will help to create hundreds of job opportunities in the Midlands area as well as more than 20 apprenticeships.

The new trains are expected to enter into passenger service between December 2017 and October 2018.