LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
Details are emerging of the court action by Siemens to stop the award of this contract for 54 high speed trains for HS2 to Hitachi/Bombardier.
The Telegraph has a piece on this: £2.8bn HS2 contract 'shrouded in mystery', Siemens lawsuit claims (msn.com)
The gist of it is that the Siemens bid meets the spec and the Hitachi/Bombardier one doesn't (but how would we know?).
Presumably we are talking about a derivative of the Velaro for Siemens, against a Frecciarossa ETR1000 derivative from Hitachi/Bombardier (now Alstom).
It's not clear how much UK content there would be in either case, or if the Class 80x structural failures have any bearing on the Hitachi bid.
You might also wonder why Alstom's principal bid based on its AGR design failed to progress.
This feels a bit like the fallout from the Eurostar class 374 bid, where the positions were reversed - Siemens won the bid and Alstom went legal in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn it.
The other complication is how Hitachi/Alstom will handle the contract once it is awarded.
Possibly the prime contract could find its way to Hitachi, with Alstom (ex-Bombardier) as a subcontractor.
The Telegraph has a piece on this: £2.8bn HS2 contract 'shrouded in mystery', Siemens lawsuit claims (msn.com)
The gist of it is that the Siemens bid meets the spec and the Hitachi/Bombardier one doesn't (but how would we know?).
HS2 is poised to award a flagship £2.8bn train building contract to two manufacturers that failed to meet the rail link’s own criteria after a process "shrouded in mystery", the German manufacturing behemoth Siemens has claimed in the high court.
Bosses at the high-speed rail link have been accused by Siemens Mobility of serious failings after they backed a rival bid from Hitachi and Bombardier.
The Hitachi/Bombardier joint venture failed to meet HS2’s technical requirements - such as manufacturing standards, timetable and cost - but was still selected to build the trains, according to the court filings.
Siemens added that HS2 also failed to consider problems with Hitachi’s trains that led to widespread disruption across the UK rail network earlier this year.
An injunction is now being sought by Siemens to prevent HS2 formally awarding the train building contract to Hitachi and Bombardier.
Siemens claims that their contract is the only one to fulfil HS2’s original requirements.
Presumably we are talking about a derivative of the Velaro for Siemens, against a Frecciarossa ETR1000 derivative from Hitachi/Bombardier (now Alstom).
It's not clear how much UK content there would be in either case, or if the Class 80x structural failures have any bearing on the Hitachi bid.
You might also wonder why Alstom's principal bid based on its AGR design failed to progress.
This feels a bit like the fallout from the Eurostar class 374 bid, where the positions were reversed - Siemens won the bid and Alstom went legal in an unsuccessful attempt to overturn it.
The other complication is how Hitachi/Alstom will handle the contract once it is awarded.
Possibly the prime contract could find its way to Hitachi, with Alstom (ex-Bombardier) as a subcontractor.