SWEDEN: Bombardier Transportation has completed assembly of the first of 45 three-car Zefiro Express 200 km/h electric multiple-units ordered by Västra Götaland regional transport authority Västtrafik.
Västtrafik ordered an initial 40 Zefiro Express EMUs for SKr3·8bn in April 2018, and seven months later exercised an option for a further five to help cope with growing demand and replace older rolling stock. There are options within the framework contract for another 55. The first unit is expected to be delivered next year.
Derived from the wide-bodied Regina EMU family, the three-car units are being assembled at the company’s Hennigsdorf plant near Berlin using bodyshells fabricated in China.
The manufacturer said the trains have been designed for reliability in harsh weather, with the winterisation package including a ‘robust’ propulsion system, single-axle drive and ‘very good’ slip-slide regulation to cope with temperatures down to -40ºC and snow up to 800 mm deep.
‘The next steps are to undertake a series of static tests to ensure all onboard systems and equipment are fully functional and safe, followed by dynamic testing where we will witness the first Zefiro Express train in motion for the first time in the safe environment of our purpose-built test track’, said Henrik Junkrans, Bombardier Transportation’s Project Execution Director Nordics, on December 16.
‘It is gratifying that the first of our new trains is ready to hit the testing phase’, said Västtrafik Business Director Jarl Samuelsson. ‘Now we will ensure that the trains live up to our high demands on safety and efficiency.’
