SWEDISH vehicle leasing company Transitio has awarded CAF a contract to supply 20 four-car EMUs and eight four-car biodiesel-electric bi-mode units for regional services. The trains have been ordered under a framework agreement signed in 2014.

The latest contract includes options for an additional 19 EMUs and seven bi-mode multiple units. The base contract is worth more than €250m, but will nearly double if all options are exercised.

The first trains are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2023.

The EMUs will be 76m-long with 190 seats, while the bi-mode units will be 67m-long, with 140 seats. Up to three trains of both types will be able to operate in multiple. All trains will have a maximum operating speed of 200km/h under electrification, while the bi-mode units will have a maximum speed of 160km/h when operating in diesel mode. The fleet will be equipped with ETCS and STM signalling.

Transitio says the trains have been designed to be more comfortable, rather than maximising the number of seats available. The red livery has been designed to characterise a cranberry.

The trains will feature Wi-Fi, adjustable chairs, work tables, power sockets, luggage areas, wheelchair spaces, two toilets including one adapted for passengers with limited mobility, and passenger information displays. There will also be a service kiosk with sales facilities.

The CAF-designed trains are based on the Civity Nordic platform, which designed to operate in extreme weather conditions ranging from -40ºC to 40ºC. The trains will be used in the Jönköping County, Kalmar County, Kronoberg and Blekinge regions, on the following lines:

  • Jönköping - Nässjö - Alvesta - Växjö
  • Värnamo - Växjö
  • Växjö - Älmhult - Hässleholm
  • Nässjö - Tranås
  • Karlskrona - Emmaboda - Kalmar
  • Kalmar - Linköping, and
  • Västervik - Linköping.

Transitio will lease the trains out to the regional public transport authorities in the four regions, who will in turn provide them to an operator.

The fleet is being purchased to meet the growing need to expand services on these lines, and to replace the existing EMUs and DMUs in order to improve both service quality and the environmental impact of public rail transport through the use of biodiesel, which is 100% renewable.

“We have done a thorough job on the vehicles requirements, and will now ensure a good cooperation with the supplier CAF during the important phases of design and manufacturing,” says Transitio CEO, Mr Magnus von Bahr. “We are confident that this will result in modern and well-functioning trains that are pleasant to travel in.”

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