Bombardier Transportation signed with FirstGroup and MTR a contract to supply and maintain 750 Aventra vehicles, for operation on the South Western franchise in the United Kingdom. The new trains will operate on the Windsor, Reading and West London suburban routes. The new trains will start to come into service from mid-2019 and will all be in place by December 2020.
Under the EUR 1 billion contract, Bombardier will execute a Technical Services and Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) for the duration of the seven year franchise, with an option to extend for 11 periods in line with the existing franchise extension option. The UK-based rolling stock investment consortium Rock Rail will finance the procurement. This is the largest ever single contract globally for Aventra trains.
Bombardier’s new Aventra electric multiple unit will transform the passenger experience with features including wide-open gangways between carriages, air conditioning, WiFi, 2 + 2 seating, USB sockets at seat locations, universal toilets and improved passenger information system. The new units will be supplied in both 5-car and 10-car configurations.
“We have exciting plans for the South Western rail franchise and these new trains are an important step on the way to delivering an improved journey experience for our passengers. We know from listening to passengers and stakeholders that alongside improved performance, what they want to see is additional seats and we will deliver this via these state-of-the-art trains,” Steve Montgomery, First Rail Managing Director said.
The FirstGroup and MTR partnership will take over the South Western franchise on 20 August 2017.
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