GREECE: National passenger operator Hellenic Train, which is owned by Italy’s FS Group, has signed a €393m contract with Alstom for the supply of 23 six-car Coradia Stream electric multiple-units.
The contract announced on December 22 includes the provision of maintenance services over a period of 10 years. A batch of 11 of the EMUs is planned to operate on Athens and Thessaloniki suburban services; these will have a higher density interior with 362 seats. A further 12 trainsets are expected to work Athens – Thessaloniki long-distance services and will have 335 seats.
The EMUs are to be equipped with a digital passenger counting system with high-precision sensors, audio and visual passenger information systems, as well as designated spaces for bicycles and prams. They are to be equipped with large luggage racks, power sockets, adjustable LED lighting, as well as enhanced sound insulation.
The accessible EMUs are to be capable of a maximum speed of 160 km/h, and they will have two doors on each side of the middle cars and one door on each side of the end cars. They are to be fitted with ETCS onboard equipment.
Design and production of the trains will be undertaken at Alstom’s Savigliano plant in Italy. Deliveries are scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2027.
Alstom is to provide preventive maintenance, scheduled overhauls and repairs, which the manufacturer says will be supported by the trains collecting ‘precise data’ as they operate. The fleets is to be maintained at a Hellenic Train depot in Athens which will be customised for the Coradia Stream design, including the deployment of Alstom’s HealthHub condition-based and predictive maintenance tool.
‘Currently, the ETCS project is progressing on the Athens – Thessaloniki axis, and also, we are going to receive 23 new modern trainsets. This is the first order for new trains in two decades, with the cost being covered entirely by Ferrovie dello Stato’, Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said.
A co-operation agreement to modernise the Greek railway system was agreed by Greece’s Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport and FS Group in May; FS has operated Greek passenger services under contract since 2017 through its Hellenic Train subsidiary (formerly Trainose). The deal was announced two years after the fatal head-on collision at Tempi that raised serious concerns about the country’s railway safety regime. The agreement included the purchase of the 23 new trainsets, which will be owned by Hellenic Train.
