EconomieJapan’s Hitachi and its French partner Alstom have won a multibillion-dollar contract to supply 54 trains for the London-Birmingham high-speed rail line. The consortium will supply Great Britain with “the fastest train in Europe” for 2 billion pounds (2.3 billion euros). It should be able to reach a top speed of 360 kilometers per hour.
The required trains will run on the new high-speed line HS2, which is currently being built. In addition, trains will also continue on the existing route to places such as Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow.
The much-discussed high-speed rail line to central and northern England suffered another setback last month when the British government decided to scrap a planned extension to Leeds in the northeast. It has been confirmed that the Birmingham connection will also be extended to Manchester.
HS2 has been dealing with ever-increasing costs for years. These already exceed 100 billion pounds, or 115 billion euros.
Incidentally, Siemens, which was also involved in the bidding, took legal steps. The German train maker believes the process has been unfair.
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