It is final, CRRC, China’s mega-company for the production of rolling stock, will be building new intercuty-EMUs for Czech open-access passenger operator LeoExpress. The contract was signed on 19.12.2016.
For an amount of approximately 20 million euro, CRRC’s subsidiary Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. will provide three trains plus spare parts, testing equipment and training services. The delivery is planned for medio 2018. The contract also includes options to increase the number of trains to 30, during the next three years.
Currently, LeoExpress is operating passenger services between Prague and Ostrava in the Czech Republic, using five Stadler Flirt trains. With the new EMUs, services may be extended into Slovakia and Poland.
In September 2016, the deal was already announced. That month, CRRC officially opened its new European subsidiary in Vienna, CRRC ZELC Verkehrstechnik. The new European headquarters will serve as a bridgehead for CRCC’s expansion on the European market.
Railcolor: The LeoExpress order is the first one for a Chinese manufacturer, coming from a country within the European Union. Other recent Chinese export orders come from the Nikola Tesla energy plant in Serbia and the Macedonian railways.
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