Normandy orders BOMBARDIER OMNEO trains. Photo: courtesy of Bombardier.
Bombardier Transportation received an option order, valued at approximately US$620 million, for 40 OMNEO Premium double deck EMUs from SNCF on behalf of the Normandy Region. The order is part of the contract signed in 2010 with SNCF to provide up to 860 double deck trains to the French Regions.
The Normandy Region plans to enter the new trains into service at the end of 2019. The trains will increase capacity by over 20 percent on the frequently used Paris-Rouen-le Havre and Paris-Caen-Cherbourg lines.
“This is the first order for the newly-designed Premium version of our OMNEO double deck platform,” remarked Laurent Bouyer, president of Bombardier Transportation in France. “Passengers will benefit from over 100 additional seats and a new-level of rail travel comfort and style. Designed by our teams in France, the OMNEO product family, which includes the Regio 2N train, is currently the key structuring project for our Crespin site and for the French rail industry.”
The OMNEO Premium trains, which can travel at 200 km/h, feature WiFi, USB charging ports, standard power plugs, and a wider seat equipped with integrated lighting. The trains will be 135m-long, offer 470 seats per train, and operate in multiple units.
To date, the French Regions have ordered a total of 253 trains of the OMNEO product family under the 2010 framework contract. The OMNEO platform is entirely designed and produced at Bombardier’s Crespin site in Hauts-de-France. The last train will be delivered in early 2021.