Alstom 125mph EMU

Alstom targets the UK as a potential market for the latest version of its 125mph Coradia electric multiple unit.

ALSTOM has relaunched an electric multiple unit for the UK market that could be built in this country.

Speaking at the Railtex trade show at the Birmingham NEC on May 10, Alstom UK Sales Director Stuart Fletcher said the latest version of the company’s’ successful Coradia train could be manufactured in the UK, if any contract awarded specified as such.

He confirmed that the EMU had been offered by FirstGroup as part of that company’s bid for the Greater Anglia franchise, and by an unnamed bidder for the TransPennine Express franchise, while a commuter variant was offered for the West Midlands franchise to replace the Class 323 EMUs. None were successful.

Had the trains been ordered, the GA fleet would have been built in Katowice (Poland), while the West Midlands fleet would have been built in Barcelona (Spain).

Fletcher explained that Alstom had looked at the market and decided to focus on 125mph EMUs. He said there was less competition in that market, and that the company was not currently developing a bi-mode train. Any use of bi-mode trains would likely involve the Hydrogen iLint that is currently on test in Germany (RAIL 824), he added.

The trains feature 23-metre-long vehicles with end doors. Trains can vary in length from four- to 11-car EMUs, but Fletcher said the reference was a five-car train.

For the inter-city market, a five-car EMU could hold 303 seated passengers, plus a further 37 standing per vehicle. The train would have two conventional toilets and one fully accessible toilet.

The West Midlands offering had 564 seats with space for 70 standing passengers per vehicle, made possible by a reconfiguration of seats. One option for West Midlands included 800 seats, said Fletcher.

The trains are offered with three kinds of vehicles, a motor, a trailer and a driving trailer. Each five-car train would have three motor vehicles, and the train would have two pantographs.

Fletcher admitted that recent comments by Network Rail Chief Executive Mark Carne, that bi-mode trains could be used for routes where electrification may not now happen ( RAIL 825), could “muddy the waters”.

But he remained confident that there was a market for EMUs due to the number of ongoing electrification programmes.

PHIL METCALFE. Prior to departure from London Euston, Direct Rail Services 88002 Prometheus waits with the Northern Belle charter to Carlisle. The ‘88s’ will be used for freight duties, enabling DRS to withdraw older members of its fleet, and serve non-electrified...