NORWAY: State rolling stock owning body Norske Tog has prequalified four bidders for a contract to supply a fleet of trainsets which would replace the country’s life-expired locomotive-hauled trains and ‘create a completely new kind of travelling experience’ on long-distance routes.
The prequalified companies are: Alstom, CAF, Stadler and Talgo.
Funding for an initial 17 trainsets is included in the state budget for 2022, with an estimated value of NKr6·5bn and a limit of NKr8bn. These would enter service in 2026, but the procurement envisages further options for up to 100 trains in total.
Requirements include sleeping compartments that can be converted into private seating during the day, as well as more affordable overnight options such as reclining seats similar to those found in a first-class cabin on an aeroplane.
As not all routes are currently electrified, electro-diesel trains will initially be required. However, Norske Tog is also seeking proposals for more sustainable alternatives such as conversion of the diesel traction package to battery power.
‘Norway is home to some of the world’s most spectacular train journeys, such as the Bergen and Dovre lines’, said Norske Tog CEO Øystein Risan on December 22. ‘You get to travel close to the fjords and the mountains, alongside the most majestic nature Norway has to offer. We want to challenge our train manufacturers to create exciting solutions to celebrate this.
‘The trains we end up ordering will, at a minimum, provide customers with a service that is just as good as today. We will, for example, set a requirement for sleeping compartments. However, beyond this, we will let the manufacturers use their expertise to show us what they can achieve. We create the best solutions when we work together.’
