Recent deals and tenders in the urban rail transport market.
Spain — Barcelona operator TMB has relaunched its tender for up to 39 metro trains. The base order covers 35 trains for €330 mln excluding VAT, rising to €413 mln with the option for four further trains. Alstom won the previous tender, but the result was annulled after the manufacturer failed to meet the competition’s conditions. At the time, Alstom had been placed on a list compiled by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights covering companies active in Israeli-controlled Palestinian territories. Alstom has since been removed from that list.
Germany — Berlin operator BVG has ordered a further 166 J-series metro cars from Stadler for €313 mln. The trains, formed as two- or four-car units, will be fitted with CBTC train control. The order falls under a 2020 framework contract for up to 1,500 J- and JK-series cars worth around €3 bln. BVG has now ordered 520 J-series cars and 140 JK-series cars. Entry into service of the first batch was delayed by four years amid lengthy modifications and economic difficulties at Stadler’s Berlin plant.
Stadler Series J train on the Berlin metro. Source: Ivan Shishkin/TransPhoto
Brazil — CRRC is to supply 10 four-car metro trains to Salvador after all. The Bahia state government has approved the contract with the Chinese manufacturer. CRRC won the tender earlier this year with a bid well below Alstom’s ($93.5 mln against $117 mln). Alstom had CRRC excluded from the competition on appeal, only for CRRC to successfully challenge that decision in turn. Alstom had earlier lobbied the Brazilian government to introduce local-content requirements into procurement rules.
India — Uttar Pradesh metro operator UPMRC has floated a tender for 45 metro cars for Lucknow, covering signalling and train control systems as well as rolling stock. The starting price is INR 6.7 bln ($70 mln). Lucknow, Agra and Kanpur currently run Alstom Metropolis and Movia trains.
Ukraine — Kharkiv Metro is trying once again to buy new trains. The municipal operator has launched a tender worth €45 mln excluding VAT, funded by the European Investment Bank. The five-car trains, whose exact number has not been disclosed, are required to have asynchronous traction motors and full-width inter-car gangways. Kharkiv has run several similar tenders in the past, none of which reached completion.
