The Transport for London (TfL) and The Department for Transport (DfT) have selected Bombardier Transportation to deliver new rolling stock and a new depot for the Crossrail project.
The £1bn deal, which is yet to be awarded to Bombardier, will include supply of 65 new Aventra trains, deliver maintenance services and construction of a depot at Old Oak Common.
Bombardier Transportation UK managing director Dr Francis Paonessa said: “This is a resounding endorsement of our proposed Bombardier Aventra train for Crossrail, which has proudly been designed and developed in the UK as an iconic and world-technology leading train for London.”
Bombardier was selected against Japan’s Hitachi and Spain’s CAF for the contract award, which is subject to a 10-day standstill period. The contract comes with options for 18 additional trains.
The new 200m-long air conditioned lightweight Crossrail trains are made up of nine carriages and will be capable of accommodating up to 1,500 passengers. Features of the trains include inter-connecting walk-through carriages and on-train passenger information systems to deliver real-time travel information.
Work on the contract including manufacture and assembling is expected to be carried out at Bombardier’s plant in Derby, England.
The trains are expected to be introduced by TfL between Shenfield and Liverpool Street mainline platforms from May 2017. The entire fleet will progressively join the existing rail network commencing services through Crossrail’s central section in December 2018.
UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “This announcement will mean state-of-the-art trains providing quick, comfortable journeys for the millions of people Crossrail will serve. It is also great news for British manufacturing and for Derbyshire, where Bombardier will support 760 new jobs and 80 apprenticeships.”