SWEDISH State Railway will call tenders next month for a fleet of 40 two-car trainsets at a cost of around SKr1bn. They are intended to operate on the two Stockholm - Örebro routes: the Mälarbanan via Västerås and the Svealandsbanan via Eskilstuna. They would replace X2000 tilting trains which are not regarded as ideal for outer suburban services with several intermediate stops.
Director of the passenger business unit SJ Resor, Anders Gylder, expects to award a contract in March or April next year. The aim is to have the first sets in traffic in the summer of 2001, when upgrading of the Mälarbanan is due to be completed.
The trains will be ordered on the basis of a performance specification, leaving detailed design to the supplier. They will be required to have at least 100 seats per coach, which could suit the Adtranz wide-bodied Regina EMUs (RG 8.99 p413) or a double-deck design like the Bombardier DWA push-pull set tested on the Mälarbanan last year.
SJ is looking to cut the time for the 107 km Stockholm - Västerås journey from 67 to 39min for a non-stop train. This would require a top speed of around 220 km/h, and high acceleration will be needed for the stopping services. Reflecting Sweden’s increasingly competitive transport market, SJ Director General Daniel Johannesson says the railway needs to work with the supply industry to achieve a price per seat-km comparable to modern bus travel.
- SJ is to refurbish around 100 of its existing loco-hauled coaches used throughout the country. Half will go through the Malm
