Nordic transport

Swedish rolling stock company AB Transitio has placed a €148m (£131m) order for 23 of Alstom's Coradia Nordic trains that will be used by Public Transport Authorities (PTA) Norrtåg AB in northern Sweden and Västtrafik AB in the region of Västra Götaland (south west Sweden).

Transitio does not operate any of the rolling stock. Instead, the operators are normally contracted by individual regional PTAs, such as Västtrafik AB. Each PTA, as lessee, guarantees the rental payments during the economic life of the rolling stock and is responsible for light maintenance during the lease term.

The new trains for Norrtåg will serve the new lines between Sundsvall-Umea and Umea-Lulea as well as the existing Sundsvall-Östersund-Storlien and Lulea-Kiruna lines. The order is part of a 10-year rail development plan for the northern part of Sweden. The trains for Västtrafik will operate between Kungsbacka-Gothenburg-Alingsås.

The new trains are Coradia Nordic EMUs (Electric Multiple Unit) with four articulated cars that operate at a top speed of 180kmh. The train sets will be designed and assembled at Alstom’s Salzgitter site in Germany, while the ONIX traction system will be constructed at a site in Tarbes, France. They will be delivered by autumn 2010.

To date, Alstom has supplied 71 regional trains to Stockholm’s public transport operator SL. Another 49 trains have been ordered by the operator Skånetrafiken. The Östergötland and Jönköping regions also respectively ordered five and two Coradia Nordic trains this past spring.

In total, Alstom has sold a total of 149 Coradia Nordic to Swedish operators, and since 2002, has sold 289 Coradia Continental and Nordic in Europe to private and public operators.