BARCELONA TRANSPORT authority ATM has signed a contract worth €65m to lease 10 Series 6000 trainsets for metro Line 1.
Due to be delivered between May and December 2007, the five-car trainsets each accommodating up to 1116 passengers are to be leased for an initial term of 18 years, with the option to extend the lease or purchase the cars at 50% of their initial value at the end of this period.
This brings to 99 the number of trains ordered by TMB since the end of 2002. On May 9 the first Series 5000 trainset was presented to the press, part of an order worth €214m for 39 sets financed by a leasing company formed by manufacturer CAF and the Kutxa bank. The five-car trains designed for conversion to driverless operation are due to enter service on lines 2, 3 and 5 between July 2005 and May 2006.
Alstom is supplying 50 trainsets for Barcelona’s new Line 9, where - with the agreement of contractors and lending banks - the Catalunya regional government has abandoned its policy of paying for civil works upon contract completion in favour of monthly payment for works executed. This is expected to produce a saving of €43·5m across the 26 civil works contracts for Line 9.
