Brief overview of key events and news in the rail rolling stock markets.
The transport company Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL) has selected Alstom to supply 24 trams. The contract worth €124 mln includes an option for a further six vehicles. The first deliveries will take place in early 2026 and the trains will enter service in the middle of that year. At the same time, MEL is now also suing Alstom for a significant delay in the delivery of the metro trains.
Rendering of the Alstom tram for Lille. Source: Alstom
The authorities of the Masovian Voivodeship have awarded a PLN 458.5 mln (€105.9 mln) contract to Pesa for the supply of 16 two-car EMUs. The manufacturer is expected to supply the Regio160 platform trains by 2026 at the latest.
The Chelyabinsk region has announced a tender for the supply of 30 single-car partially low-floor trams. The starting price is RUB 2.2 bln ($24 mln) or RUB 72.5 mln ($0.8 mln) per tram. The minimum required capacity is 150 passengers, 33 of them seated. The equipment should allow up to two vehicles to operate in multiple. Finalisation is scheduled for 16 January, with delivery of the rolling stock to be completed by December 2024.
The regional operator RBS has announced a tender for the supply of 20 narrow-gauge electric trains. The rolling stock is scheduled to enter service on the Bern–Solothurn line in 2028–2029.
Rendering of the narrow-gauge electric trains for RBS. Source: RBS
Alstom, CRRC, Hyundai Rotem, and Siemens Mobility have been shortlisted in a tender for the Sydney Metro. The winning bidder will be expected to supply 16 metro trains, signalling systems, platform doors and provide maintenance of the rolling stock for 15 years. The trains will operate on the Sydney Metro West line, which is expected to open in 2032.
Alstom will deliver the Coradia Stream H hydrogen trains to Puglia and Lombardy. Each region will receive two trains. While the Puglia operator FSE is ordering these trains for the first time, the Lombardy operator FNM is exercising an option on a previous order for six such trains, the first of which was unveiled at EXPO Ferroviaria this autumn. Alstom has also recently completed a contract for 27 hydrogen trains of another model, the Coradia iLint. These have been delivered to the Rhine-Main Regional Transport Association (RMV).
The Coradia Stream H hydrogen train to be purchased for Puglia and Lombardy. Source: Alstom
Astra has won tenders to supply trams to two Romanian cities. The Romanian manufacturer beat Türkiye’s Bozankaya in the tender for ten trams for Galati, worth RON 98 mln (€19.7 mln). In the tender for nine trams with an option for a further 16, Astra was the only bidder ready to supply the rolling stock to Oradea for RON 219 mln (€44 mln).
