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Siemens to supply Israel with trains

Updated: 20/Jan/2006 15:28

Siemens Train

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German engineering giant Siemens has won a tender worth 900 million Euros to supply trains to Israel. The company is expected to provide Israel with 671 railway cars over the next 10 years.

In recent times Israel has sought to expand and upgrade its railway transport system, which for many years was slow and outdated.

Israel Railways CEO Ofer Linczewski welcomed the significance of the deal. “Against the backdrop of Israel Railways’ surge of development, the agreement signed is of immense importance for the well-being of railway users," Linczewski said

"The significant growth in the amount of passenger trains available to us will help reduce crowding inside the trains, increase frequency [of service], and improve the level of punctuality."

Better service

The tender will initially see Siemens supplying Israel with 86 passenger cars which will significantly ease some of the current systems more antiquated carriages. Over a quarter of these cars will have disabled persons facilities. The first are scheduled to arrive in August.

After this initial package, Israel will have the option to purchase an additional 585 railway cars. As part of the winning tender, Siemens also won the right to provide maintenance.

Moshe Leon, chairman of Israel Railways’ board of directors, also spoke of the advantages of upgrading the system, and called for more of the same. Leon said that even more investment is needed "in order to meet the government’s goal of opening new lines and providing service to some 60 million passengers annually."

Winning bid contested

Although Siemens has officially won the tender, the losing tenders provided by Bomadier of Canada and Alstom of France have not conceded. These two companies are planning to petition the court to void the Siemens contract on the basis of the tender’s validity.

Bombadier released a statement that read, “There is a feeling that things were not done cleanly. The tender took 18 months, and we must examine the tender documents well, in view of the enormous financial consequences."

Linczewski denied the allegations and stated that Israel Railways invited all the losers in the tender to see the material. “We conducted a proper and transparent process, and I assume that eventually, after an exhaustive examination, there will be no court petition,” he said.