Bombardier Transportation has secured a seven-year contract worth $171m to modernise nine Eurotunnel PAX Shuttles as part of its 2018-2026 mid-life programme.
Each 800m-long shuttle consists of 26 wagons and allows passengers to remain in their vehicles during the 35-minute Channel crossing.
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Bombardier will start deliveries of the newly refurbished shuttles in mid-2022 and continue until mid-2026.
The vehicles were originally designed and built by teams from Bombardier France and Belgium in the 90s.
Bombardier Transportation France president Laurent Bouyer said: “This project, the largest in Europe in terms of scope and ambition, marks a milestone in the development of our refurbishment activities and places Bombardier as the leader of this market in France.
“As well as their own know-how, our French teams will be able to tap into the overall engineering expertise and processes across the Bombardier group to make a success of this unique project.”
Bombardier will renovate all 26 wagons, including 12 single-deck carriages, 12 double-deck carriages, and two double-deck loader wagons, in addition to two spare loader wagons.
The company will serve as project technical advisor and lead the integration and renovation operations, except for the single-deck loaders.
Additionally, it will lead engineering design and procurement for onboard equipment.
As part of the contract, key equipment such as brakes, doors, fire doors, fire detection, HVAC and the double-deck loaders will be procured by Eurotunnel.
The company will also manage the homologation process of the renovated Shuttles with the appropriate authorities, while Bombardier will offer the technical support to prepare documentation.
