State-owned Israel Railways (ISR) and Siemens (www.siemens.com) have signed a contract worth about 900 million euros for the delivery of 60 Desiro HC regional trains over the next 10 years.

The double-decker trains can be ordered in four-car as well as six-car configurations.

Upon signing the contract, Siemens received the first call-off for 24 trains — six in a four-car configuration and 18 six-car types. The order includes the maintenance of the first 24 trains over a period of 15 years, the construction of a maintenance workshop in Ashkelon, and further options for maintenance.

Sabrina Soussan, CEO of Siemens’ Mobility Division, said: “This order is strategically important for us in two respects.

“For the first time in our company’s history we will be delivering complete trains to Israel; it also marks the first time that we have sold our Desiro HC train platform outside Germany.”