Swedish train deal for Alstom

, the public transport operator in southern Sweden’s Skåne (Scania) region, has announced that it has selected

to supply it with Coradia Lirex regional trains. The €40m deal is for the delivery of 49 trains, with an option to be determined.

The trains will be designed and assembled at the Alstom site in Salzgitter, Germany, while the Onix traction system will be manufactured in Charleroi, Belgium. Delivery of the trains is scheduled for the second half of 2009.

The purchase is part of Skånetrafiken’s moves to improve and update its regional train fleet. Over the last few years, passenger numbers have increased by 10 to 15 per cent each year, with rail services making up over half of the region’s public transport network. According to Alstom, its Coradia Lirex trains are up to 95 per cent recyclable, in line with the company’s environmental policy.

Since the first contract in 2002, Alstom has sold 157 Coradia Lirex trains, which are specially designed for extreme winter weather conditions, to European customers. In Sweden, Coradia Lirex trains have been in service in the greater Stockholm area since August 2005.