EUROPE: Channel Tunnel concessionaire Eurotunnel has appointed Bombardier Transportation to undertake the mid-life refurbishment of its nine passenger Shuttle trainsets, which carry cars, coaches and their occupants between the terminals in the UK and France.
The contract announced on March 20 is worth €150m over seven years, with deliveries of the refurbished Shuttles to run from mid-2022 until mid-2026.
Each 800 m long Shuttle train has 24 vehicle-carrying wagons and four loading wagons. Bombardier will be responsible for modernising the 12 single-deck wagons which carry coaches, minibuses, caravans and vehicles more than 1·85 m high, the 12 double-deck wagons which carry cars and motorcycles, the two double-deck loader wagons and also spare loader wagons.
Eurotunnel will be responsible for the single-deck loading wagons, and will undertake the design and procurement of key equipment including brakes, doors, fire doors, fire detection and HVAC. It will also manage the approvals process.
‘We are celebrating 25 years of operation of these unique Shuttles that were built 30 years ago’, said François Gauthey, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Eurotunnel’s parent company Getlink. ‘This strategic investment, our most important in 25 years, allows Eurotunnel to maintain the highest level of quality service and to affirm trust in its long-term perspectives.’
President of Bombardier Transportation France Laurent Bouyer said the refurbishment project was ‘the largest in Europe in terms of scope and ambition’. It also ‘marks a milestone in the development of our refurbishment activities and places Bombardier as the leader of this market in France.’
