Rail technology company Bombardier Transportation (www.bombardier.com) has signed a contract with FirstGroup and Hong Kong’s MTR to supply (and then maintain) 750 Bombardier Aventra vehicles (to be operated by the UK’s South Western franchise).

This is the largest-ever single contract globally for Aventra trains; it is worth about £895 million. The UK-based rolling stock investment consortium Rock Rail will finance the multi-million pound deal.

Richard Hunter, UK managing director of Bombardier Transportation, said: “We are thrilled to have won this important contract. It demonstrates further confidence placed in this market-leading rolling stock, designed and built in Britain.

“Aventra offers enhanced performance and increased passenger capacity, which will play an important part in helping First/MTR to satisfy continued levels of passenger growth on the South Western network.”

The new trains, which will be supplied in both five- and 10-car configurations, will operate on the Windsor, Reading and West London suburban routes.

They will start to come into service from mid-2019 and will all be in place by December 2020. The FirstGroup and MTR partnership will take over the South Western franchise on 20 August.