NORWEGIAN train leasing company Norske Tog has entered into an agreement with Alstom for the purchase of an additional 25 six-car commuter EMUs after exercising an option to extend an order for 30 trains finalised in January 2022.
In December 2021, Norske Tog announced that it was buying 30 commuter trains from Alstom under a framework agreement which includes options for 170 additional trains. The framework agreement is valued at €1.8bn, with the latest option worth €230m.
The trains will be of Alstom’s Coradia Nordic type which had been in operation in Sweden for more than 15 years and is specially designed to cope with harsh Nordic winter conditions. The EMUs will be able to operate at up to 200km/h and will be equipped with ERTMS.
Production of the new trains is due to start in 2023 with the first trains due to arrive in Norway for testing in 2024 and the rest delivered and put into operation in 2025.
While the first 30 trains from the original order are destined for the Østfold Line, the newly ordered batch of 25 will be allocated to services running to Moss, Rakkestad and Ski, entering service in 2027.
Norske Tog CEO, Mr Øystein Risan, says the trains will “give a long-awaited boost to commuters in the Oslo region, with higher comfort, increased capacity and better coverage” compared with the 40-year-old trains they are replacing.
The new EMUs will each have total capacity for 778 passengers and 294 seats. Each train has a total of 12 low-floor and wide-door entrances allowing for faster passenger flow at stations at rush hour periods, and there are also large areas to accommodate standing passengers.
There are also large “flexi-zones” for bicycles and pushchairs, and special facilities for passengers with reduced mobility, including fixed spaces for wheelchairs, an accessible toilet and a wheelchair lift able to operate from platform heights as low as 550mm.
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