East Anglia rail to receive BOMBARDIER AVENTRA vehicles. Photo: courtesy of Bombardier.
Bombardier Transportation was awarded a contract worth approximately US$1.1 billion to supply 665 new BOMBARDIER AVENTRA vehicles to Angel Trains, for operation by Abellio on its East Anglia rail franchise in the United Kingdom. The new trains are expected to be delivered between January 2019 and September 2020.
Bombardier has also signed a separate contract to provide ongoing maintenance services support to Abellio Greater Anglia for the new trains for the duration of the franchise, which will run for 7 years. The maintenance contract is worth approximately US$108 million.
Bombardier’s new AVENTRA EMU features reduced weight, increased capacity, improved energy efficiency and reliability, and delivers a significant increase in performance.
“Our modern AVENTRA platform will greatly improve the journey experience for Abellio Greater Anglia’s customers by delivering an enhanced interior environment and passenger comfort together with greater connectivity, shorter journey times and more reliable trains,” remarked Per Allmer, president, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Bombardier Transportation. ‘These important contracts demonstrate Bombardier’s ability to deliver high quality, integrated transportation products and services, providing value-adding long-term solutions for our customers.”
“As a modular train, our AVENTRA product family offers maximum flexibility and hence has the capability to serve many different market requirements from metro to intercity, both in the UK and worldwide,” added Allmer.
The UK Department for Transport named Abellio as the new franchise operator of its East Anglia rail. Abellio will begin operations starting in October 2016.
“We are pleased to have finalized the agreement with Bombardier as a key part of the largest-ever privately-procured train order in the UK,” stated Dominic Booth, MD of Abellio UK. “It will give the people of East Anglia high-quality trains as part of an ambitious transformation of the region’s railway. We look forward to working with Bombardier and Angel Trains to deliver the 665 air conditioned Bombardier Aventra train carriages that will greatly improve the journey experience of millions of passengers.”