THE new nine-year East Anglia franchise, won by current Greater Anglia incumbent Abellio (see last month), will see brand new fleets ordered for all routes as part of a £1.4 billion investment. This includes orders for the first main line vehicles for this country from Switzerland-based Stadler Rail, as well as the previously announced deal with Bombardier in Derby.
Abellio, a subsidiary of the Dutch national operator NS, is to order a total of 1043 new vehicles for delivery between January 2019 and September 2020. Bombardier will supply 665 ‘Aventra’ vehicles, similar to the Class 345 sets launched recently for Crossrail (see last month), while Stadler will build 378 vehicles of its ‘Flirt’ multiple units. The Bombardier fleet will be formed of 22 10-car and 89 five-car EMUs; Stadler’s will comprise 20 12-car EMUs plus 24 four-car and 14 three-car bi-mode sets.
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