SOUTHERN, acting on behalf of the Department for Transport, has chosen Bombardier to supply 116 more electric multiple unit vehicles at a cost of around £180 million, so that some existing Thameslink trains can be cascaded to newly-electrified lines in the next year or two.
The DfT no longer has the option to delay cascades from Thameslink until new trains from Siemens can be delivered to the route, because of a two-year delay between the confirmation of Siemens as preferred Thameslink rolling stock bidder in 2011 and final close on the deal in June this year. The trains now being ordered from Southern will also be cascaded when they can eventually be replaced by the new Desiro City units from Siemens.
The latest order includes an option for another 140 vehicles, which may be exercised 'in the event that further investment opportunities are identified', according to Southern. If so, the new potential total order value would increase to £385 million.
A spokesman for Southern told Railnews that some of the details have still to be confirmed, but the new trains are likely to be a 'variant' of the well-established Electrostar series.
The purchase of more trains was revealed in principle last November, following previous orders for 170 Electrostar vehicles for Southern which are now under construction at Derby. These, too, are intended to bridge the potential gap between old and new on Thameslink.
Southern said it intended to sign the contract with Bombardier at the end of the ‘Alcatel' or cooling-off period of 10 days, which began on 18 July.
Southern managing director Chris Burchell said: “We have worked extremely hard to be an effective delivery partner to the Department and we are very pleased to have reached this important milestone in the procurement of new rolling stock. This will provide essential capacity to allow our industry to grow.”
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin added: “Increasing the number of trains on the network not only benefits passengers but everyone, as the railways are an important engine for economic growth in our country.
“The Government has worked closely with Southern to enable this critical stage of the project to be reached and I look forward to these trains being delivered.”
Although Southern is being used by the DfT to manage the procurements, the operator will have ceased to exist before the results of this latest order are likely to be delivered, because Southern is due to be merged with the next Thameslink franchise in July 2015.