SLOVAKIAN passenger operator ZSSK has secured €144m to finance the purchase of 16 new BEMUs for regional services. The state-owned company has concluded a non-refundable agreement with the Ministry of Transport, with funding coming from European Union (EU) programmes including the Slovak Cohesion Fund and Slovak Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
The funding agreement follows the signing of a framework contract with Škoda Transportation and ŽOS Trnava in December. This commits ZSSK to a firm order of 16 BEMUs and an option for a further 20. The target order value for the first tranche was €136m, while the actual figure of €144m suggests a price of €9m per train.
The new trains are expected to be delivered in phases from 2028 onwards and will be deployed on mainly non-electrified lines
“We will be the first in Slovakia to offer passengers zero-emission battery-electric trains, says ZSSK CEO and board chairwoman, Ivana Piňosová.
“There are approximately 3630km of railway lines in Slovakia, of which only 1585km are electrified,” Piňosová says. The new trains will therefore make it possible to extend the benefits of electric traction to lines where full electrification would require extensive infrastructure investment.”
For detailed information on fleet orders across Europe, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
