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Siemens' Desiro modular EMU has won its first UK customer
Bless you Angel, thank you Siemens, at last, a new train to write about. Angel Trains, as they are now called, has ordered 25 four car ‘Desiro UK ' electric multiple units from Siemens Transportation Systems at a cost of £90million. There are also options on another 500 vehicles.
@News:While claimed as a speculative order, ‘without a corresponding lease commitment in advance of any customer requirement', industry insiders suggest that the likely end user could be First Great Eastern, where Siemens and Alstom are short listed for the Class 312 replacement contract. Under a franchise commitment, FGE has to replace its slam door Mk 2 Class 312 EMUs by December 21 2002 . The requirement is for 17 diagrams, which could be met by around 20 units given the high reliability of the Siemens Class 332 Heathrow Express trains.
A further factor favouring the FGE connection is Railtrack's Vehicle and Route Acceptance process. The FGE trains are for operation at 25kV AC and Siemens has Fleet Acceptance for the Class 332 at this voltage. Although the Desiro electric multiple units ordered by Angel are a radically different design mechanically to the class 332, the three phase drive traction package will be common, greatly simplifying acceptance.
In its press announcement Angel said that the Desiro units would enter service ‘in Summer 2002, enabling early replacement of Mk1 stock'. This service date presumably reflects the time needed for the Siemens traction package to obtain a safety case for Railtrack's 750V direct current electrified lines south of the Thames .
Angel MD Haydn Abbott added that the order ‘will also allow quick decisions by the new franchisees on Mk 1 replacement and fleet enhancement, providing early benefits to passengers'. Given that all Mk 1 vehicles have to be withdrawn or modified by December 31 2002, Angel's proposed delivery schedule means that its order would have little impact on the replacement programme, which affects a fleet of around 950 vehicles, unless the options in the Siemens contracts are exercised at an early date.
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@Head:How speculative is speculative? @Newsni:While Siemens claimed that the decision to order trains without lease contract in place was ‘unprecedented', Porterbrook placed a series of speculative orders for Adtranz Turbostar DMUs, effectively buying up the complete capacity of the production line before any lease deals had been completed. @News:This initiative gained Porterbrook considerable political kudos at a time when the Rolling Stock Companies were under fire. But industry insiders were not surprised when lease deals were signed with train operators whose combined requirements matched almost exactly the number of vehicles in the ‘speculative' order. Angel Trains announcement was accurate, carefully qualifying the claim to ‘the first order for EMUs' without a lease in place |
@Head:A train called ‘Desiro'
@Newsni:‘Desiro' is the name for Siemens' generic modular ‘platform' which can be used to produce a wide range of urban and suburban electric and diesel multiple units up to six car formations. Standard components are combined to produce a range of vehicles for various duties. For example there is a choice of three cab ends, disabled provision, catering facilities including a bistro, different classes of accommodation and passenger information systems.
@News:‘Desiro UK ' is aimed specifically at the UK market with its smaller loading gauge and highly prescriptive disability provision regulations. It retains the modular design which, according to Siemens will allow the base specification to be agreed immediately while the ‘finer details' such as seating arrangement, and interior fittings and fixtures can be agreed as production progresses.
Angel's is the third order for the Desiro concept, the others being from German Railways and Slovene Railways.
Desiro orders
Operator Train type power
German Railways 2 car DMU
Greek ? 5 car 25kV ac EMU
Slovene Railways 3 car 3kV ac EMU
Angel Trains 4 car 750V dc/25kV ac