Rail News: UK
Carriages for Crossrail will not be of identical design to Thameslink, removing an advantage for Thameslink rolling stock winner Siemens, and offering Bombardier more of an equal chance, it has been revealed.
Following a 2008 DfT document, industry professionals understood that the Thameslink winner would be a favourite for the £1bn Crossrail contract. Because of the similarities in the design, Siemens would have been able to benefit from economies of scale, to provide a cheaper bid.
The document read: “Should the Crossrail project be given the go-ahead, there will be clear similarities between the rolling stock requirements for the two schemes.”
But design differences in the carriage specifications will give other manufacturers the chance to win the Crossrail contract, the Guardian reports. This is especially important for Bombardier, who lost 1,200 jobs when they missed out on the Thameslink deal.
The shortlist of bidders for the Crossrail rolling stock contract are Bombardier, Siemens, Spanish company CAF and Japan’s Hitachi. The winner will be declared in 2014.
