News and Exhibitions - VR calls tenders for double-deck inter-city fleet

Caledonian Rolling Stock Cables

CABLE CONSTRUCTION

Conductors:
Tinned fine copper strands according to VDE 0295 / IEC 60228 class 5 are generally used for railway cables. For nominal cross section of over 50mmsq, 0.41mm strand wire may be used instead of 0.51mm as stipulated in IEC 60228. The IEC 60228 class 5 enhances flexibility and the ease of handling, thus lengthening the product life of the cable. These class 5
conductors are extremely flexible, and easy-to-install in the compact rolling stock environment.
Insulation and Outer Sheath:
Crosslinked polyolefine copolymer or EPR will generally be used for insulation whereas electron-beam cross-linked elastomer is employed for sheathing. Cross-linked elastomer compounds offer very good durability that can resist heat, oil, vibration, chemical aggression, etc.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

As an OEM, Caledonian rolling stock cables provide our railway customers with future headroom by meeting the following European Norms (EN) and international standards :

EN 50264

EN 50306

EN 50382

NF F 63808

NF F 63826

NF F 63827

BS 6853

DIN 5510-2

NF F 16 101

UIC 895

VR calls tenders for double-deck inter-city fleet

FINLAND: National operator VR Group has begun procurement of 46 double-deck coaches for 200 km/h inter-city services, with options for a further 185. These would replace the current Express coaches dating from the 1970s and 1980s which are nearing the end of their life.

Announcing the European tender on June 4, VR said bidders would be required to have experience of manufacturing double-deck coaches and rolling stock for operation in cold climates.

The tender includes sleeping cars which VR is required to procure under the terms of an agreement with the Ministry of Transport & Communications which gives it exclusive rights to operate long-distance passenger services until 2024 (RG 8.13 p11). The acquisitions will be made without state funding, instead using internal resources and debt or lease agreements if required.

The procurement forms part of a €2bn fleet investment programme. Earlier this year VR signed a contract for Siemens to supply 80 Vectron electric locomotives for €314·5m, and Transtech Oy is currently supplying 26 double-deck restaurant cars (RG 3.14 p41) and 25 driving cars to enable VR to adopt push-pull operation.

VR says it plans to purchase new diesel locomotives ‘in the near future’.