CAF wins £490m vehicle deal for Arriva Rail North
A FLEET of 55 diesel multiple units and 43 electric multiple units will be built by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) for Arriva Rail North Ltd.
The deal is worth £490 million and is the largest ever secured by CAF in Europe. The trains will be owned by Eversholt Rail, and will enter traffic from October 2018 with all in traffic by the end of 2019. Their use will increase capacity, and lead to the removal of the Pacers from the franchise.
CAF will build 25 two-car and 30 three-car DMUs and 31 three-car and 12 four-car EMUs. In total 281 vehicles will be delivered, with support from CAF Rail UK.
The stock will be based on the Basque (Spain) company’s Civity platform, which is also being used for the construction of the Mk 5s for Caledonian Sleeper. It is a modular design capable of 100mph, and the units will have air-conditioning, audio and visual on-board passenger information systems, power sockets and tables, cycle racks, toilets, digital CCTV systems and free WiFi.
This is the first time CAF has worked with Deutsche Bahn, which owns Arriva. Chris Burchell, Managing Director of Arriva’s UK Trains Division, said: “We are delighted to partner with CAF to meet the high specification and demanding timetable for delivery of the new rolling stock. I hope that today’s announcement once again makes clear our determination to deliver on our promises to passengers.”
Antonio Campos, CAF S.A. International Commercial Director for Western Europe, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for CAF to consolidate its position as one of the leading manufacturers of trains in the competitive UK market.”
Richard Garner, CAF S.A. Business Development Director for UK and Ireland, said: “Following on from CAF’s orders for the Caledonian Sleeper trains, this further reinforces CAF’s belief in the UK market and the strategy it has been following.
“This order will assist CAF in pursuing other potential orders arising from franchises such as Greater Anglia and West Coast, as well as the New Tube for London, Docklands Light Railway and Merseytravel. Together with the potential of High Speed 2, the UK is a very exciting and important market for CAF.”
Eversholt Rail Group Chief Executive Mary Kenny said: “These new trains will bring much-needed improvements in comfort and capacity for passengers on this important part of the network, and we look forward to working with our partners to bring them into service.”