Bombardier to manufacture 116 new train carriages for Thameslink rolling stock cascade

Following an extensive procurement process, Southern has today announced that it has selected train manufacturer Bombardier to supply 116 new electric rolling stock vehicles at a cost of c£180million to facilitate the planned Thameslink cascade.

This order has the provision of an extra 140 vehicles which can be called in the event that further investment opportunities are identified, bringing the potential total order value up to c£385 million.

Southern intends to sign the contract with Bombardier at the end of the ‘Alcatel period’. This is a period of at least 10 days which begins with this announcement of our intention to award the contract.

When the contract is placed, the new trains will be used initially on the Thameslink Route, facilitating the release of existing trains to newly electrified routes. In the longer term, these new trains will in turn also be cascaded.

Southern Managing Director, Chris Burchell said: “We have worked extremely hard to be an effective delivery partner to the Department and we are very pleased to have reached this important milestone in the procurement of new rolling stock. This will provide essential capacity to allow our industry to grow.”

The Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin said: “Increasing the number of trains on the network not only benefits passengers but everyone, as the railways are an important engine for economic growth in our country.

“The Government has worked closely with Southern to enable this critical stage of the project to be reached and I look forward to these trains being delivered onto the network.”