The 3kV dc trains will be built at Alstom's Lapa plant with final assembly taking place at a new 32,000m2 facility in Deodoro in the state of Rio de Janeiro. SuperVia has provided the land for the workshop, which will be built by Alstom and is expected create up to 50 direct and 150 indirect jobs.
The first trains will enter service in February 2014, two years earlier than scheduled in SuperVia's concession agreement, and the entire fleet will be operational by September 2014.
The trains will feature stainless steel bodyshells with full-width gangways, air-conditioning and CCTV. They will also be equipped for Automatic Train Operation (ATO).
In October SuperVia placed a Reais 542.6m order with a consortium of China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation and CNR Changchun for 60 four-car emus, with an option for an additional 30 sets. This follows an initial contract signed in 2009 for 34 trains, 29 of which have now been delivered.
The new trains are part of a Reais 2.4bn investment by SuperVia and the state of Rio de Janeiro in the modernisation of the city's 270km commuter rail network, which has witnessed rapid ridership growth in recent years and now carries around 540,000 passengers per day. Daily ridership is expected to reach 1 million by 2015.
