West Midlands Trains Ltd, the joint venture of Abellio, JR East and Mitsui signed a GBP 680 million (EUR 771 million) contract with Bombardier and CAF for the supply of 107 trains (up to 413 carriages).
These include 100 new carriages for the Cross City line, the busiest route on the West Midlands network, and will be of a design that offers increased space to carry more passengers and wider doors for quicker access. They will be put into service in 2021.
Under the contract, CAF will manufacture and supply 12-two car and 14-four car DMUs. Bombardier will produce 333 electric carriages made up of 36-3 car trains and 45-5 car trains for outer suburban and long distance configurations.
The project is part of West Midlands Trains’ GBP 1 billion (EUR 1.13 billion) investment into the local network over the next eight years.
The new franchise, which runs until March 2026, will see more services and more space for passengers while stimulating and supporting further economic growth and jobs across the region. By the end of the franchise there will be 25 per cent more carriages on the network than at the beginning.
There’ll also be GBP 70 million (EUR 79 million) towards new and existing depots as well as GBP 60 million (EUR 68 million) on station improvements. All this will help provide far more capacity for those heading into London and Birmingham during rush hour, with space for an extra 85,000 passengers at this time. To deliver all this WMT will be putting GBP 18 million (EUR 20 million) towards staff training and development at all levels.
The new franchise will see 20,000 extra seats for rush hour passengers in Birmingham, 100 new carriages on the Cross City line, 80 new carriages for the Snow Hill lines, compensation if services are delayed, smart ticketing and live passenger information.
“It’s great to get started on delivering everything we’ve promised to our customers across the network. The £1bn of investment will allow West Midlands Trains to be one of the core drivers of faster economic growth throughout the regions in which it operates. We’re also delighted to see so many of our new trains produced in the Midlands, stimulating the local economy,” Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde, managing director of West Midlands Trains said.
Share on:
