Contracts and deals in the passenger rolling stock markets.
France — Trenitalia’s French subsidiary has ordered 19 ETR 1000 high-speed trains from Hitachi Rail in a deal worth almost €2 bln, covering long-term maintenance and a new depot. The trains are due to enter service between Paris and London and on other international routes from 2029. The order marks the third option under a 2023 contract, taking Trenitalia’s total order to 74 second-generation ETR 1000 (Frecciarossa 1000) trainsets.
Portugal — Spain’s Talgo and France’s Alstom are competing to supply up to 20 high-speed trains to the country, after both cleared the pre-qualification stage of national operator CP’s tender, according to local media. A winner is expected to be named by the end of the year. CP’s first-stage order covers 12 trains for the 1,668 mm gauge network, with a maximum speed of 300 km/h.
Czech Republic — Stadler is challenging Škoda Group’s win in the largest tender yet run by the national operator ČD for electric trains. Stadler had offered to supply the firm order of 66 trains for CZK 38.7 bln (€1.6 bln), against Škoda’s winning bid of CZK 36.4 bln (€1.5 bln). In its appeal to the country’s competition authority, Stadler cites the winning bid’s “exceptionally low” price, a 15-year warranty it calls “uncharacteristic for the industry,” and other alleged irregularities.
X’Trapolis 2.0 electric train in Melbourne. Source: PEPSI697/Wikimedia
Australia — Victoria’s state government has ordered another 25 X’Trapolis 2.0 electric trains from Alstom, exercising a €270 mln option on its 2021 contract for a firm order of 25 six-car trainsets. The trains are built at Alstom’s plant in Ballarat, Australia, with a declared 60% local content. The first units have been running in suburban Melbourne since May.
Concept of a future high-speed train for California. Source: CHSRA
USA — California has halved its high-speed train order as funding for the line’s construction falls further behind. Under the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (CHSRA) updated plan, it now expects to buy three trains rather than six, while also weighing leasing and an option on 19 more. The future purchase won’t be subject to Buy America requirements, opening the door to production outside the US. The rolling-stock tender for the planned Merced–Bakersfield high-speed line launched in 2023. Bidders Alstom and Siemens Mobility have both said they cannot fully meet the localisation requirements.
Ukraine — Ukrzaliznytsia has ordered 92 passenger carriages from the Kryukiv Railway Car Building Works in a UAH 5.2 bln (€100 mln) deal funded from the state budget. The order comprises 83 compartment coaches at UAH 68 mln (€1.3 mln) each and nine wheelchair-accessible compartment coaches at UAH 72 mln (€1.4 mln) each, with delivery due in 2027–2028. Last year, Ukraine’s national operator ordered 100 passenger coaches from the plant, including five T-gauge units.
Sitting coach of model 61-4458. Source: TMH
Russia — Russian Railways (RZD) and TMH have signed a three-year contract to supply coaches for suburban services. This year’s order covers seven sitting coaches of the 61-4458 model, built by the TMH plant in Tver. The coaches will be leased out to suburban operators, with the first batch due to run in Krasnoyarsk Region and the Kaliningrad Region. Earlier this year, Federal Passenger Company (FPC), an RZD subsidiary, signed a long-term contract with TMH for more than 2,700 loco-hauled coaches for long-distance service.
