Friday April 11, 08:35 PM
Belgian railways orders Siemens trains worth 1.3 billion euros
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Belgium's public railway company SNCB announced Friday it had decided to order 305 electric passenger trains from Germany's Siemens (Xetra: 723610 - news) worth 1.3 billion euros (two billion dollars).
The SNCB board gave the green light to its biggest-ever purchase, a key component in the planned electric railway system for the Brussels region, the company said in a statement.
The deal is expected to be signed with Siemens within 10 days.
The trains, which can run as single "rail cars" or with several passenger carriages, should be delivered between 2011 and 2016 when the RER system, similar to the RER system that serves Paris and its suburbs, is due to be fully operational.
About a third of the electric 'Desiro' trains, with a top speed of 160 kilometres per hour, will be used on the Brussels RER with the rest serving the national rail network, the SNCB spokesman said.
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