ISRAEL: A contract worth up to €900m for Siemens to supply to Israel Railways with up to 60 four-car and six-car Desiro HC double-deck electric multiple-units over 10 years was signed in Lod on March 7.
This includes a firm order for the supply of an initial six four-car and 18 six-car EMUs and the provision of 15 years of maintenance at a purpose-built depot in Ashkelon. There are further options for maintenance.
‘This order is strategically important for us in two respects’, said Sabrina Soussan, CEO of Siemens’ Mobility Division. Siemens has previously supplied hauled stock to ISR, but now ‘for the first time in our company’s history, we will be delivering complete trains to Israel’, Soussan said. ‘And also for the first time, we’ve sold our innovative Desiro HC train platform outside Germany.’
Alstom, Bombardier Transportation, Hitachi Rail Italy, Siemens, Škoda Transportation and Stadler had submitted best and final offers for the EMU contract, which has been awarded as part of ISR’s 25 kV 50 Hz electrification programme. Siemens was named preferred bidder in September 2017, subject to final approval from the Ministry of Economy.
- Read more about Israel Railways’ electrification project in the February 2018 issue of Railway Gazette International, which is available to subscribers in the digital archive.
