Last month, Bombardier Transportation (www.bombardier.com) signed a contract with Västtrafik to supply 40 high-speed electric multiple-unit trains for Sweden’s Västra Götaland region.

The contract is worth about 368 million euros and includes an option for 60 additional trains. Delivery is planned to begin in 2021.

Västtrafik chairman Lars Holmin said: “Since Västtrafik was formed in 1999, passenger journeys by train have more than doubled. We are continuously challenged to meet the target of 135,000 journeys per day.”

The three-carriage trains are designed for high capacity, premium passenger comfort, low operating costs, and the ability to operate under the harsh weather conditions prevalent in the Nordic countries.

The trains, which will feature a diagnostic capability designed to increase availability and ensure ‘a high degree of schedule effectiveness’, will operate at speeds up to 200kph and provide seating for 270 passengers.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the Pujiang Line of Shanghai Rail Transit will be using the new-generation Innovia APM 300 — developed by Bombardier/Puzhen and regarded as the most advanced unmanned APM (automated people mover).

In 2014, Bombardier and CRRC Puzhen co-founded a joint venture — CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co Ltd — to undertake the design, production, integration and sales of ‘straddle monorails’ and APMs.