|
Abellio has ordered 70 Class 385 EMUs for use in itsScottish franchise. In April 2015, Abellio began operation of ScotRail,Scotland’s national railway, in accordance with a franchise awarded byTransport Scotland. Abellio was established in 2001 by Nederlandse Spoorwegen, TheNetherlands’ national railway. This was part of an international strategy to anticipatethe effects on Europe’s railroad industry of European Union legislationdesigned to convert European railways owned and operated by nationalgovernments to competitive railroad companies.
 In the United Kingdom, Abellio operates buses through Abellio
London and Surrey, has another rail franchise in Abellio Greater Anglia, as
well with Merseyrail and Northern Rail as part of joint ventures. In Germany,
Abellio operates Abellio Deutschland, serving communities in North
Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia.
Additionally, in The Netherlands, Qbuzz, Haagsche Tramweg Maatschappij, and
Abellio Nederland run bus services in Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, and
Utrecht and tram services in the municipality of The Hague.
The Scottish Class 385 EMUs are part of the Hitachi AT200
series of the EMU train class. The 75-ft-long cars are equipped with tables, LED
lighting, at-seat power outlets, Wi-Fi, and toilets. The first seven of the
25-kV 50-Hz EMUs are being built in Kasado, Japan, with the remaining 63 to be
produced at Hitachi’s new UK plant in Newton Aycliffe. The new 100-mph trains
will be delivered in summer 2017, and will operate on ScotRail’s busiest route—the
Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk High Line. Eight-car electric trains will run
between both cities, providing around 50% more seats during peak time.
The total order includes 46 three-car and 24 four-car units,
which are scheduled to enter service on the Edinburgh-Falkirk High-Glasgow-Stirling-Alloa-Dunblane
Line, which is in the process of being electrified. In addition, the EMUs will
be used on the southern Glasgow suburban routes between late 2017 and the end
of 2018 when the electrification of the other route is complete. The £370 million
contract includes ten years of maintenance. To introduce these new trains, the complete
rolling stock program—including the refurbishment of most of the existing
fleet—is funded at £475 million.
Full article: IEEE
Vehicular Technology Magazine, Volume 11, Number 2, June 2016 |
;){kind=small}
