Abellio Orders 20 FLIRT3 Multiple-Unit Trains

A contract for the delivery of 20 electric multiple-unit trains for the Lower Rhine Network was signed between Stadler Pankow GmbH and Abellio Rail NRW GmbH on 31 May.

The contract governs the delivery of 13 five-carriage single-system and 7 five-carriage multi-system multiple-unit FLIRT3 trains.

The vehicle fleet will come into service with the new timetable in December 2016 on the Düsseldorf to Emmerich and Wesel to Mönchengladbach lines. There will also be non-stop, cross-border traffic on the route between Emmerich and Arnhem in the Netherlands.

In the upstream SPNV competition process for the Lower Rhine Network, the vehicle finance model provided by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (VRR) was applied. In this model, the future operator procures the vehicles for service on the network and then sells them on to the special-purpose association VRR. VRR becomes the owner of the vehicles, takes over the finance and leases them to the future operator, in this case Abellio, for the term of the transport contract.

The five-carriage single-system multiple-unit trains are approximately 91 metres long and have 259 seats, of which 32 are in 1st class. It also has two toilet units, with one a large barrier-free toilet.

Because of the space required for the multi-system technology, the five-carriage multi-system multiple-unit trains for cross-border traffic have slightly reduced seating capacity of 251 seats, with 24 in 1st class, and the same interior design for the passenger compartment.

The multi-system technology in the FLIRT3 allows a transition between the different train control systems and different power supply voltages in Germany and the Netherlands.

The FLIRT3 was designed with the needs of people with restricted mobility in mind. Generous entrance areas with gap bridging and sliding steps lead into an air-conditioned passenger compartment with low floors throughout. The vehicles have a maximum speed of 160 km/h.