BOMBARDIER Transportation has signed a three-year, £232m extension to its maintenance agreement with Arriva CrossCountry Trains, extending service until October 2019.
The work will be carried out in the Bombardier’s Central Rivers facility in Burton-on-Trent.
The contract covers full maintenance services for CrossCountry’s fleet of 57 Voyager and Super Voyager trainsets. This also includes the transfer and conversion of two Super Voyager cars. Previously operated by Virgin Trains, these cars will be reconfigured to create an additional 58th unit for CrossCountry.
Ian Hyde, head of fleet & engineering at CrossCountry, said: “This new contract to continue operating CrossCountry for a further three years is great news for our customers and staff. We now look forward to continuing our successful relationship with Bombardier that has contributed so much in delivering such reliable trains for our customers’ journeys.
Matt Byrne, head of services at Bombardier Transportation added: “We’ve worked hard to enhance the performance of the Voyager fleet and we look forward to continuing those improvements in the future through our ongoing collaborative relationship with CrossCountry.”
Yesterday the Departmenr for Transport announced it has renegotiated the franchise with Arriva Cross Country for the remaining three years of the agreement.
The train operator will pay the government a premium of £163m to operate the franchise from September 2016 until October 2019. In return the Government will invest £20m in “more modern trains”.
