Czech Republic: Ostrava Transport (DPO) has launched a tender for 16 single-direction, low-floor LRVs with capacity for at least 240 passengers, 30% of them seated. The Koruna 2.25bn ($US 104m) contract will include an option for nine further vehicles. The LRVs must have a maximum length of 32m and be able to operate at a maximum speed of 80km/h. They must have an onboard wheelchair ramp, be equipped with air-conditioning and CCTV plus at least 20 USB charging points, and have doors at least 1300mm wide. Delivery of the LRVs must be within 32 months.
Italy: Hospitality assets company Arsenale Express and hotels group Orient Express have signed an agreement for Knorr-Bremse to supply rail vehicle systems for two of their new Orient Express La Dolce Vita luxury trains. Each train comprises 11 cars fitted out to evoke the stylistic trends of the 1960s. Starting in the third quarter of 2023, Knorr-Bremse will supply braking technology, entrance systems and environmentally-friendly climate control and sanitary systems for the trains, which are to be used on various high-end “slow travel” itineraries across Italy, and also journeys to Split in Croatia and Istanbul in Turkey, with the emphasis on luxurious and sustainable travel.
Germany: The Schleswig-Holstein Public Transport Network (NAH SH) has launched a tender to lease rolling stock to operate on the networks in the central and southwestern regions of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. The selected bidder will own the trains, which will then be made available to the regional rail operator. The state needs up to 40 EMUs to operate on newly-electrified lines in Northern Germany. The trains must be four-car EMUs with a mixed formation of double-deck and single-deck vehicles with step-free access from 760mm-high platforms. Delivery of the new trains is scheduled to start in 2027, with the first entering service in December of that year. The contract will run from February 1 2025 to December 31 2057, with an option for a two-year extension.
Spain: Rail freight operator Rail & Truck Strait Union (RTSU) and leasing company Alpha Trains have signed a long-term finance lease agreement for the supply of seven Stadler Euro6000 locomotives to be built at the manufacturer’s Albuixech plant in Valencia. The locomotives will be used to haul long, heavy trains between Algeciras and Zaragoza, a newly established intermodal freight corridor between one of southern Spain’s busiest Mediterranean ports and the north of the Iberian peninsula, with connections to the rest of Europe. RTSU was created by CMA CGM, Eco Rail and Marcotran specifically to operate the service.
Belarus: Minsk Metro has signed a contract with Transmasholding’s Metrovagonmash (MVM) plant for the supply of 28 metro cars. The cars will form seven four-car EMUs for operation on phase 2 of Minsk Metro’s Line 3 when it is commissioned. All the cars will be equipped with asynchronous traction motors. The cars will include barrier-free access through each entire train, areas for passengers with restricted mobility, ergonomic seating, passenger information, air-conditioning and CCTV systems.
Poland: The city of Poznań has launched a tender for the purchase of 10 LRVs with an option for another 20 vehicles for operator MPK Poznań. The contract will be for bi-directional, articulated, low-floor vehicles with a length of 30.5-32.5m and a width of 2.4m. The contract will include supply of spare parts and equipment to maintain the vehicles at the network’s Głogowska tram depot, plus a repair package. The selected bidder will also be required to train MPK Poznań maintenance and operating staff.
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