Contracts and deals in the passenger rolling stock markets.
Russia — RZD and Sinara Transport Machines (STM) have signed their first three-year contract for Finist trains, covering DC ES104 units and dual-system ES105 units in five- and eight-car formations. Twelve trainsets are on order for this year, seven of which have already gone to the operator. Volumes for the following two years have not been disclosed. RZD and TMH previously struck similar three-year deals for EP2DM and EP3D EMUs (15 trainsets in 2026) and for suburban coaches.
UK — Five manufacturers have made it through pre-qualification for a tender to supply up to 106 trains to Scotland. France’s Alstom, Spain’s CAF, Japan’s Hitachi Rail, Germany’s Siemens Mobility and Switzerland’s Stadler are competing for passenger operator ScotRail’s contract, whose firm scope covers 69 electric trains, some of them battery-electric. Entry into service is planned for 2030.
Rendering of a possible high-speed train exterior for Australia. Source: HSRA
Australia — Alstom, Siemens Mobility and Hitachi Rail are vying to supply first high-speed trains to the country. The manufacturers, teamed with local partners, have made the shortlist for the state High Speed Rail Authority, with the scope covering related systems as well as depot construction and equipping alongside the trains themselves. Australia’s first high-speed line, running between Sydney and Newcastle at up to 320 km/h, is expected to open in the late 2030s.
Switzerland — The Fribourg Transport Authority has ordered 13 FLIRT Evo EMUs from Stadler in a CHF 117 mln (€124 mln) deal, taken up as an option under a large 2022 agreement between Stadler and national operator SBB covering up to 510 single-deck EMUs. The four-car sets will be built at Stadler’s plant in Bussnang. From 2028, the new trains will start replacing the Domino fleet, built by local manufacturers and Adtranz in the 1980s and 1990s.
Render of a FLIRT Evo for Fribourg. Source: Stadler
Japan — Hitachi Rail will modernise 16 series 20000 EMUs for private operator Seibu Railway. Across the 144-car fleet, interiors will get new seats, flooring and other refreshed elements, with multifunctional spaces for passengers with disabilities, wheelchairs and bicycles added to every car, while the exterior and traction equipment stay as they are. The work will take place at Hitachi’s plant in Kudamatsu, the same site that built these trains back in 1999-2005.
Render of a series 20000 EMU exterior project after modernisation by Hitachi Rail. Source: Hitachi Rail
Ukraine — National operator Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has ordered 10 T-gauge compartment coaches from the Kryukiv Railway Car Building Works (KRCBW): four 61-7157 coaches with a conductor’s compartment (40 seats), four 61-7158 without one (44 seats), and two 61-7159 staff coaches with spaces for passengers with disabilities (30 seats). The contract is worth UAH 1 bln including VAT (€21 mln), with delivery due in 2029. Wider T-gauge coaches are still only in development at KRCBW. UZ ordered a pilot batch of five of the current coaches last year. Serial purchases continue too, with a contract for 92 compartment coaches signed earlier this year.
