UK: Incoming Wales & Borders franchisee KeolisAmey has selected CAF as preferred bidder for a contract to supply regional diesel multiple-units for the franchise’s rural and suburban services.

CAF is in final negotiations to supply and maintain 44 two-car and 26 three-car Civity DMUs to be in service by September 2022, plus a further seven two-car units to be delivered by September 2024. KeolisAmey is also in the process of selecting a leasing company to finance the order.

The air-conditioned DMUs are to be built at CAF’s new factory on the Celtic Business Park site in Newport which is scheduled for completion in autumn this year. CAF said it was investing £30m in the factory, and would receive ‘significant’ grant support from the Welsh government’s inward investment programme.

‘We would like to thank CAF for working collaboratively with us to design trains, which, in line with KeolisAmey values, put passenger needs at their heart, with state-of-the-art passenger features, ample legroom, and seats aligned with windows to enjoy the wonderful scenery of the routes they will serve’, said Colin Lea, Mobilisation Director at KeolisAmey Wales Cymru. ‘These new trains, which will set a new standard of travel comfort and accessibility for the next decade, will be made for Wales and by Wales’.