STORSTOCKHOLMS Lokaltrafik has selected a tri-national private consortium to operate Pendeltåg commuter services in the Swedish capital. The CityPendeln consortium announced in December 16 that it will take over in January 2000, when SL’s agreement with Swedish State Railway expires. The five-year concession includes a five-year extension option.
The consortium is led by French transport contractor VIA-GTI and British bus operator Go-Ahead Group plc, which already jointly run London’s Thameslink passenger train franchise, together with Swedish regional operator BK Tåg which has a rolling stock maintenance works at Vetlanda and a staff of former SJ drivers. VIA-GTI will have a 51% stake in CityPendeln, with Go-Ahead holding 39% and BK Tåg 10%.
The contract covers two north-south cross-city routes totalling 185 km. A fleet of 50 eight-car trainsets formed of series X1 and X10 two-car EMUs currently handles around 60 million passengers a year. CityPendeln will maintain and operate the trains, with SL retaining the revenue risk. A separate contract will be awarded for maintenance and operation of the 51 stations.
- On December 21 SL Bansystem AB let a SKr100m contract to AT Signal System to resignal its 891mm gauge Roslagsbanan commuter network. The installation will include Ansaldo L12000 transponder-based automatic train protection and 40 Union Switch & Signal Microlock II interlockings.
