German rail operator HLB has placed a €65 million order with Alstom Transport for 23 new Coradia Lint regional trains. These trains, intended for the state of Hesse, are slated to go into service in December 2011.

The Coradia Lint trains are two-car Diesel Multiple Units. They will be designed and produced at Alstom’s Salzgitter site in Germany. Each train can accommodate up to 116 passengers under optimal conditions of comfort at speeds of up to 120 kph. Mobile landings, adaptable to all platform heights, will facilitate the boarding and disembarkation of passengers. On-board surveillance cameras will be used to reinforce passenger safety, and a special access ramp and two wheelchair spaces will be provided in each car to ensure optimal comfort for the mobility-impaired. The Coradia Lint range also complies with Alstom’s environmental policy and the trains are 95% recyclable.

Manufactured from service-proven components based on highly dependable technology, Alstom’s Coradia Lint range has enjoyed considerable commercial success. Since the launch of the range’s first trains in 2000, Alstom has sold over 500 such trains to both public and private operators in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. The range has proven its worth throughout more than 350 million km of commercial service.

This new order will enable HLB to expand its rail fleet, which now includes over 60 Coradia Lint trains. “This order is a token of the exceptional confidence accorded to Alstom and the quality of its products. This is the third order placed by Hesse in recent years and we are delighted with our always excellent relations with HLB,” stated Martin Lange, managing director of Alstom Transport in Germany.

Alstom Transport’s range of regional trains

Drawing on its 30 years of experience in regional transport, Alstom developed a range of regional and suburban trains in response to the congestion of urban and motorway networks and the increasing expansion of suburban areas. These trains also contribute to regional economic development and help protect the environment. Alstom’s Coradia and X’Trapolis ranges now offer operators and users a solution closely matched to their needs and expectations: comfortable, reliable and available high-capacity regional trains that are easy to maintain and have a limited impact on the environment. At its plants in Salzgitter (Germany), Valenciennes (France) and Savigliano (Italy), Alstom has already built over 3,000 regional trains that have covered more than four billion kilometres.

¹ HLB : Hessische Landesbahn GmbH