GYSEV and Stadler sign EMU delivery contract2012. április 12.
Ilona Dávid, Chair and CEO of Győr-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasút Zrt., and Zoltán Dunai, Hungarian Country Manager of Stadler Rail Group (Stadler), have signed today a contract on the delivery of 4 regional electric multiple units (EMU), put out to tender to modernise the Sopron-Szombathely-Szentgotthárd railway line. The total contract value is EUR 20,332,000, with 85% covered by the Cohesion Fund of the European Union. According to plans, Stadler will deliver the first train to the railway company in early 2014, and the last one in mid 2014. The bodies of the new trains will be manufactured by Stadler’s factory in Szolnok.
On 26 November 2011, GYSEV Zrt. announced a negotiated public procurement for the supply of 4 EMUs for traffic modernisation along the Sopron-Szombathely-Szentgotthárd railway line. The tender documentation was purchased by four companies, and the only proposal was submitted by Stadler Bussnang AG. After pre-qualification, the parties completed the negotiated procedure and successfully agreed on all details. Stadler’s binding offer was unanimously supported and accepted by the evaluation committee of GYSEV Zrt. Accordingly, the railway company successfully closed the public procurement procedure by announcing Stadler Bussnang AG as the winner on 30 March 2012.
The total procurement cost of the four trains is EUR 20,332,000, the unit price being EUR 5,083,000. According to the contract, Stadler will deliver the first vehicle 620 days after signature and the last one 710 days after. In other words, the first Sopron based FLIRT could transport passengers as soon as the beginning of 2014, and the last train will be put into service around mid 2014.
Stadler will fully manufacture the train bodies in its Szolnok factory. If Stadler starts deploying its planned final assembly activity in Szolnok still this year, chances are that the Sopron FLIRT trains will also be assembled in Hungary. To this end, Stadler expects further favourable developments in the local market, since establishing a significant new factory unit and ensuring the healthy and long term operation of the plant also require the contribution of the local market. The Szolnok plant of Stadler now delivers 100% of its products to export markets.
The design of the vehicles procured is similar to the FLIRT train delivered to Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) and hence they need no new type licence. The single power type, low-floor vehicles capable of running at a top speed of 160 km/h will have 200 seats, 95% being “box seats”, and room for 164 standing passengers. In line with 21st century requirements, the Sopron based FLIRTs will be equipped with a modern passenger information system, air conditioning, multifunctional areas for carrying bicycles and restrooms with easy access to the disabled. With acceleration capacity of 1.2 m/s2, the trains will be able to make up for delays of up to 10 minutes. At present, the FLIRT trains of MÁV are the only type of EMU capable of this in Hungary. An EMU full of passengers reaches the speed of 100 km/h within only 28 seconds. In addition to acceleration, the FLIRT boasts of a cutting edge braking technology, enabling the train to stop from the speed of 120 km/h with service brakes without using the air brakes. This regenerates and feeds back most of the accumulated kinetic energy to the overhead cables by transforming it into electric power. According to calculations, this can save up to HUF 92 thousand per train per day for the operator with a running performance of 530 km per day, compared to a shuttle train hauled by a V43 locomotive.
“The full reconstruction of the Sopron-Szombathely-Szentgotthárd line operated by GYSEV Zrt. was completed more than six months ago. Since then, the trains have been running much faster, much safer and with much more favourable running times. Statistics show that passengers are grateful for the improvement: this February we carried 26% more passengers between Sopron and Szombathely and 20% more between Szombathely and Szentgotthárd than a year before. We intend to retain passengers who choose community transport in the long run. This will be promoted by the signature of this contract, with modern FLIRT trains, which are highly popular across Europe, running on the Sopron–Szentgotthárd line of GYSEV”, said GYSEV Chair and CEO Ilona Dávid in relation to the signature.
Stadler delivered the first FLIRT EMU to the Swiss Federal Railway Company (SBB) back in 2004. Since then, the model has been highly popular and FLIRTs have been running in a total of 12 countries, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Norway, Italy, Poland, Algeria, Byelorussia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and of course Hungary. This has definitely made the FLIRT the company group’s most popular train, of which a total of 722 units have been ordered to date.
Source: GYSEV Zrt.