Government Calls for Green Train Designs in UK

The UK Government is seeking bids for designing electric intercity train fleets that are expected to be up to 40% more efficient than current models, aiming to improve energy efficiency by at least 35% and replace existing high-speed trains with new ones carrying 70% more passengers.

November 16, 2007 8:52 pm | Last Update: July 31, 2015 8:54 pm

The UK Government is inviting bidders to design a fleet of new green intercity trains designed to carry more passengers.

The Department for Transport has issued an invitation to tender for the Intercity Express programme to three short-listed consortiums: Alstom-Barclays Rail Group, Express Rail Alliance (comprising Bombardier, Siemens, Angel Trains and Babcock & Brown) and Hitachi Europe.

Bidders must meet environmental specifications laid out by the government with the new electric trains operating up to 40 percent (and at least 27 percent) more efficiently than the trains they replace.
For self-powered trains, the government demands an improved energy efficiency of up to 35 percent, with a minimum of ten percent.

The first new trains, designed to carry 70 percent more passengers, will begin working trials in 2012 to replace the existing high-speed trains from 2015.

TAGS: alstom barclays rail group, express rail alliance, hitachi europe, uk green intercity trains

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