ITALY: Trenitalia has awarded a further contract to Bombardier Transportation for an additional 100 Class E464 electric locomotives, to be delivered in 2010-12. Valued at approximately €258m, the contract announced on October 14 includes options for a further 50 locos.

Rated at 3·5 MW, the single-ended Class E464 was developed specifically to power push-pull trainsets on a wide variety of regional and suburban duties, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Trenitalia had previously placed orders for a total of 638 locomotives, of which 480 are already in service. The latest contract will make the class one of the biggest in Europe, allowing the operator to reduce operational and maintenance costs.

The order is the first to be placed under Trenitalia’s recently-announced €2bn programme of investment in regional passenger services. The 3 kV DC units will be assembled at Bombardier’s former TIBB plant at Vado Ligure, with the bodyshells coming from Bombardier's Wroclaw plant in Poland and the Mitrac propulsion equipment from Trapaga in Spain. ‘This order reinforces Bombardier's strong manufacturing presence in Italy’, said Chief Country Representative Roberto Tazzioli.