(Denmark) DSB EMU contract awarded to Alstom

[JonasB]

It will be Alstom that delivers DSB's new EMUs that wil be based on the Coradia Stream platform. And at a first glance they look very similar to the Dutch ICNG.

They will be 25 kV only, so only used for domestic routes, with a top speed of 200 km/h and seat 300 passengers each. The initial order will be for 100 trains.

Press release (in Danish): https://www.dsb.dk/om-dsb/presse/pr...sat-fra-alstom-skal-kore-dsb-ind-i-fremtiden/
Images: https://www.skyfish.com/sh/6d7ccf958f70068d99c7bb4a305833fdabf403bc/1afa0397/1904975

DSB has today decided to order a minimum of 100 electric train sets from the French train manufacturer Alstom. The train sets will be the backbone of future train traffic and are scheduled to be delivered from 2024. With the order, an important milestone in the transition to a more climate-friendly and sustainable public transport has been reached.

“It is a historic day for DSB and for public transport in Denmark. With the order of new electric train sets, we can look forward to retiring the aging diesel-powered trains within a short number of years. In about 3.5 years, the first electric train sets will be delivered, and customers can look forward to a more efficient train operation with good comfort and higher punctuality, ”says Peter Schütze, Chairman of the Board of DSB.

(Translated by Google.)

 

[Gloster]

The Danish press release says that the whole process purchasing process, which has been running since 2014, was aimed at selecting a proven and tested product. (The scars of the IC4 run deep.) Delivery will run until 2029; Alstom will be responsible for maintenance, and new workshops will be built in Aarhus and Copenhagen. The cost, if 150 sets are purchased, will be over 2 billion kroner, once maintenance facilities are included.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

If they are replacing DMUs, it implies a lot of wiring will be completed over the next few years.
I know the route to Rødby on Lolland is being electrified (for the Fehmarn tunnel now under construction), but there must be others.

 

[JonasB]

If they are replacing DMUs, it implies a lot of wiring will be completed over the next few years.
I know the route to Rødby on Lolland is being electrified (for the Fehmarn tunnel now under construction), but there must be others.

Yes, after the IC4 disaster they decided to electrify instead. The electrification has had it's fair share of obstacles but they are going ahead with it and DSB is as mentioned buying EMUs and not bimodes. They are also replacing the current ATC system with ETCS, which has caused problems.

When it comes to electrification, Denmark is pretty similar to the UK as they have relied heavily on diesel traction. The first electrification phase was in the 1930s when a couple of suburban lines around Copenhagen were electrified using DC. But then nothing happened until 1979 when parliament decided to start electrifying the main lines. So in the 80s and 90s more lines where electrified, and the Öresund bridge and the Great Belt bridge where built. At the turn of the century a bit more was electrified. But basically just a couple of lines around Copenhagen and a "transit line" between Sweden and Germany. And nothing more happened until the IC4 disaster, and they decided to electrify most of the country.

The first line to be electrified in this new project was the line Esbjerg that was completed a couple of years ago (2017 or 18 I think), followed by Køge Nord-Nästved. And now the plan is to electrify all main lines in the country. And the plan seems to be to do it as fast as possible and no bimodes. Roskilde-Holbæk and Ringsted-Næstved-(Vordingborg) should open this year. There is a map of the plan here: https://www.bane.dk/-/media/Bane/Bo...eringsprogrammet/EP_danmarkskort_sept2020.png

 

[Gloster]

There was a plan passed in 1979 to electrify the whole of the Danish main line network, which resulted in AC electrification north from Copenhagen to Helsingør and then west to Roskilde: the latter later reached Korsør on the Great Belt. With the link across the Belt opening in 1997 and the one across the Øresund in 2000, there was an electrified through route from Sweden to the German border, but after that the plan was abandoned. In 2014 it was once more decided to electrify the main lines; the line to Esbjerg had already been authorised and was sparked in 2017.

 

[popeter45]

Yes, after the IC4 disaster they decided to electrify instead. The electrification has had it's fair share of obstacles but they are going ahead with it and DSB is as mentioned buying EMUs and not bimodes. They are also replacing the current ATC system with ETCS, which has caused problems.

When it comes to electrification, Denmark is pretty similar to the UK as they have relied heavily on diesel traction. The first electrification phase was in the 1930s when a couple of suburban lines around Copenhagen were electrified using DC. But then nothing happened until 1979 when parliament decided to start electrifying the main lines. So in the 80s and 90s more lines where electrified, and the Öresund bridge and the Great Belt bridge where built. At the turn of the century a bit more was electrified. But basically just a couple of lines around Copenhagen and a "transit line" between Sweden and Germany. And nothing more happened until the IC4 disaster, and they decided to electrify most of the country.

The first line to be electrified in this new project was the line Esbjerg that was completed a couple of years ago (2017 or 18 I think), followed by Køge Nord-Nästved. And now the plan is to electrify all main lines in the country. And the plan seems to be to do it as fast as possible and no bimodes. Roskilde-Holbæk and Ringsted-Næstved-(Vordingborg) should open this year. There is a map of the plan here: https://www.bane.dk/-/media/Bane/Bo...eringsprogrammet/EP_danmarkskort_sept2020.png

suprised there isnt any plans to electrify to Tonder, if DB electrified from Itzehoe via niebull for sylt service could be a useful backup for if the flensburg line was closed for whatever reason

 

[Gloster]

suprised there isnt any plans to electrify to Tonder, if DB electrified from Itzehoe via niebull for sylt service could be a useful backup for if the flensburg line was closed for whatever reason

Bramming-Tønder is definitely a branch line and it is difficult to see how the amount of traffic it carries could justify the expense. It is not impossible, but it would be well down the list. You would also have the problem that it would be the freight operators that would need it as a diversionary route, but they would not use it for regular traffic, while the operator of the regular passenger service (Arriva) would need to add a small number of bi-current EMUs or bi-modes to its fleet.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Now Stadler have lodged an appeal. Railway Gazette have the story behind a paywall here: https://www.railwaygazette.com/trac...n-to-dsb-multiple-unit-contract/59098.article

All I can read is the byline as follows:

DENMARK: Stadler has lodged an objection to DSB’s selection of Alstom for a contract to supply around 150 electric multiple-units as part of its Future Train rolling stock renewal strategy.

 

[Gloster]

DSB’s press release says that Stadler’s appeal is based on the opinion that the winning bid does not fulfil all the criteria set forth by DSB. DSB hopes that the relevant authority (Klagenævnet for udbud) will rule within thirty days.

 

[AlexNL]

behind a paywall

It's only a loginwall (for now at least). If you have a RG account you can read the story.

 

[Nohab1142]

The decision over Stadler's appeal has been done. Alstom is the winner and the contract was signed.
Alstom press release

 

[jamesontheroad]

Remember the good old days, when a customer could award a tender and not immediately have to go through an appeal process from the losing bidder?

Nonetheless, I’m impressed with the speed with which Klagenævnet for udbud reviewed the appeal. Such appeals can drag on for many months.

 

[Gloster]

There was a report a week or so ago (in Ing.dk, the on-line engineering, etc. paper?) that suggests that this is not the final ruling, but the authority has delved sufficiently to allow the signing to go ahead.

 

[JonasB]

Exactly, the appeal process is not over.

Alstom has however published a new video of the trains: https://www.alstom.com/press-releas...ins-largest-railway-contract-denmarks-history