U.K. Department for Transport Goes Green Asking for New, Greener More Efficient Trains

Bidders were asked today to start designing a fleet of new intercity trains which will be lighter, greener and carry up to 70 per cent more passengers. The Department for Transport has issued its Invitation to Tender for the Intercity Express program to three consortiums which have been short-listed for the project.

The first new trains will start working trials in 2012, and they will begin to replace the existing High Speed Trains from 2015. In the first phase they will be introduced on the East Coast and Great Western main lines.

Bidders will decide how many carriages they need to supply to provide the service the Government is asking for. Indications are that this may be around 850 in the first phase, possibly rising to approximately 1,500 if options to extend IEP to other routes are taken up.

The Government’s specification for the new trains demands they meet the environmental challenge by improving their energy efficiency. The new electric trains will need to be up to 40 per cent (and at least 27 per cent) more energy efficient than the trains they replace. For self-powered trains the Government is requiring an improved energy efficiency of up to 35 per cent, with a minimum of 10 per cent.

As well as the increased capacity on board, the new trains will allow operators to run longer and more frequent services. Combined, this will see an increase of between 15 and 70 per cent more seats on the initial routes.

Trains must be lighter, to help increase energy efficiency and reduce wear and tear on tracks, but meet all present and future safety standards. They must also have the flexibility to operate on inter-urban and commuter routes as well as long-distance journeys and be adaptable enough for different train operators to fit them out according to their needs.

Rail Minister Tom Harris said:

“We’re demanding high standards of capacity, environmental performance and flexibility from these new trains because they will benefit passengers for decades to come. But it’s for the bidders to decide exactly how they will meet those standards - we’ve set the bar and they have to clear it.

“All three consortiums bidding for this project have the ingenuity, expertise and strong financial backing to produce the very best in modern train design.”

Proposals will be received from bidders in summer 2008, with the award of the contract in winter 2008/09. The three short-listed bidders are:

* Alstom-Barclays Rail Group

* Express Rail Alliance (comprising Bombardier, Siemens, Angel Trains and Babcock & Brown)

* Hitachi Europe Ltd

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