Bombardier receives order for 11 OMNEO Premium trains from SNCF

Bombardier Transportation has announced that it has received a firm order for 11 additional OMNEO Premium, double-deck, electric multiple unit (EMU) trains (110 cars) from French National Railway Company (SNCF) on behalf of the Normandy region, which is financing 100 per cent of the purchase.

This additional order amounts to €162 million and is part of the framework contract signed with SNCF in 2010 to provide up to 860 trains for France’s regions. Previously, on 16 May 2020, Bombardier received a separate firm order for 16 additional trains (160 cars), amounting to €245 million. The given values include price escalations based on best faith assessment of assumptions. In total, Bombardier will supply 27 additional OMNEO Premium trains to SNCF for the Normandy region. 

The Normandy region plans to roll out these spacious, more comfortable trains on the highly frequented lines linking Paris to Vernon-Rouen and Paris to Evreux-Serquigny, with the first trains of this order scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2023. Once delivered, the region will have a fleet of 67 OMNEO Premium trains, which will be maintained mainly in the new Sotteville-lès-Rouen SNCF technicentre, as well as in Caen and Le Havre. The region’s strategy, based on a fleet from the same train family, will enable an increase in operational flexibility and optimise maintenance costs. 

President of Bombardier Transportation France, Laurent Bouyer, said: “Passengers will discover a new style of train travel with the Bombardier OMNEO Premium. Our engineers have focused on allowing ample space for passengers, more seats and highly comfortable interior fittings. Designed and manufactured at our site in Crespin in the Hauts-de-France region, these trains are certified ‘Origine France Garantee’.”

In January 2020, Bombardier started delivering the first OMNEO trainsets from the initial order for 40 trains that was signed in November 2016, which have already entered commercial operation. The Normandy region is the first region to order OMNEO trains, and Bombardier has developed a unique interior and exterior design to match the region’s visual identity. 

The OMNEO Premium trainset has been designed to offer France’s long-distance passengers an exceptional travel experience with high standards of comfort. Both in first and second class, each passenger can enjoy two individual armrests, reclining seats, a reading light, USB and power plugs, as well as a large table.

Passengers can also find travel information on large LED screens spread across the train and flat screens in the seating areas. A dynamic seat reservation system provides valuable information to passengers, and the train’s floor plan has been slightly adjusted to reach 550 seats for each 135m trainset, in addition to offering space for 12 bicycles.