Virgin Rail Projects chosen for Pendolino lengthening contract
15 August 2008
By awarding a Notice to Proceed at the end of July, the Department for Transport has named Virgin Rail Projects Ltd the chosen bidder for the Service Provider contract to support its plans to introduce longer Pendolino trains on the West Coast main line (June issue, p6).
The Service Provider will support DfT throughout the design, manufacture, delivery, testing and commissioning of the new Pendolino rolling stock through to the end of the current West Coast franchise on 31 March 2012. The Notice to Proceed means that Virgin Rail Projects Ltd can now review and enter into interim lease and interim maintenance contracts for the new rolling stock. Four new 11-car trains are covered by the deal, plus 62 new coaches to extend 31 existing nine-car trains to eleven cars long.
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