08.05.13
Bombardier to supply 57 more London Overground carriages
TfL has awarded Bombardier an order for 57 additional Class 378 rail cars, worth approximately £88m.
The cars will allow existing four-car electric trains to be turned into five-car versions, to meet increasing demand on London Overground. Delivery will begin in late 2014 on the East London Line, and be complete in 2015.
The new cars have been ordered under an option to purchase up to 216 additional cars in the original agreement.
Des McKeon, commercial director UK, Bombardier Transportation said: “This contract underlines the strength of the long-standing relationship between Bombardier and Transport for London. Bombardier is playing an important role helping TfL deliver increased capacity on the network. As well as delivering new, reliable trains we are improving availability and reliability together with the operator through our fleet maintenance offering. Bombardier helps keep thousands of passengers moving in London and across the UK every day.”
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “London Overground has been a truly dazzling success and more and more Londoners are now using the vastly improved service. Not only will these new carriages help us meet passenger demand, but they will also support jobs and growth at their birthplace in Derby.”
Acting director for TfL London Rail, Jonathan Fox, said: “With this order, the London Overground Capacity Improvement Programme is firmly underway to meet the demands of increasing numbers travelling on our network. We are looking forward to introducing the longer trains from the end of 2014, starting on the East London Line.
“In 2012/13, the network carried nearly 125 million passengers - nearly four times the number carried when we launched in 2007. To enable this trend to continue and maintain our high levels for safe, reliable and frequent travel, we need to deliver more capacity by adding more carriages.”
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