Rail operator
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has selected the Spanish company
CAF as the preferred bidder for the project to supply 10 tri-mode trains, each comprising 10 carriages; these can operate in electric, diesel or battery mode. The project, which also includes the maintenance of these units for eight years, is valued at more than 500 million euros; it includes the purchase of the trains by Porterbrook (which will subsequently lease them to LNER) and maintenance delivered by CAF.
The new fleet will enter passenger service on the LNER-operated East Coast Main Line (ECML): and because the trains can run on both electrified and non-electrified sections of the network, they ‘will increase service operation efficiency and flexibility, while providing a more sustainable and environment-friendly transport system’. The fleet will be assembled at CAF’s manufacturing facility in Newport, Wales. This has been operating since September 2018, and currently employs a workforce of about 220 skilled staff and supporting personnel, who are trained for the manufacture of all types of passenger railway vehicles.
CAF said: “This project confirms CAF’s commitment to the UK railway market and reinforces the company’s successful track record in the UK. We have delivered numerous contracts over recent years with various operators, including First Group, Arriva, Serco Group, West Midlands Trains, Transport for Wales, Transport for London, and West Midlands Metro. These projects amounted to a total value of more than 2,500 million euros.”