THE first painted bodyshell for the Berlin S-Bahn’s next-generation fleet of class 483/484 trains has arrived at Stadler’s plant in Pankow, where final assembly will take place.

POLISH regional operator Masovian Railways (KM) confirmed on October 11 that Stadler Poland has been selected as preferred bidder for a contract to supply 71 EMUs.

THE first Stadler Flirt DMU for the Tex Rail commuter line in North Texas has left the Stadler US plant in Salt Lake City bound for Atlanta, where it will go on display at the American Public Transportation Association (Apta) Expo on October 8-11.

IRJ at Trako 12th International Railway Fair, Gdansk, Poland: The first of 10 Flirt 3 EMUs for Austrian-Hungarian operator Györ-Sopron-Ebenfurth Railway (GySEV) was formally presented to GySEV CEO Mr Kövesdi Szilárd by Mr Peter Jenelten, Stadler Rail executive vice-president for marketing and sales, at the Trako exhibition in Gdansk on September 26.

LATVIAN national passenger operator Pasažieru Vilciens (PV) announced on September 21 that it has received technical bids from four manufacturers for a contract to supply 32 EMUs.

ISRAEL Railways (IR) has eliminated all but two of the companies bidding for a contract to supply a fleet of 60 double-deck EMUs totalling 330 cars leaving only Alstom and Siemens in the running.

HUNGARIAN national passenger operator MÁV-Start placed its first order for Stadler Kiss double-deck EMUs on August 18, when CEO Mr András Csépke and Stadler Bussnang country director for Hungary Mr Zoltán Dunai signed a Forints 60.5bn ($US 234m) contract for 11 trains.

THE first Flirt 3 EMU for RB61 Wiehengebirgsbahn cross-border services from Bielefeld and Bad Bentheim in Germany to Hengelo in the Netherlands was presented to Keolis Germany managing director Mr Thomas Görtzen by Mr Ulf Braker, Stadler executive vice-president for Germany, at Stadler Pankow’s Berlin Wilhelmsruh plant on August 16.

VALENCIAN Government Railways (FGV) has awarded Stadler Rail Valencia a €43.3m contract to supply six bi-mode (diesel and electric) multiple units.

INDIAN Railways (IR) has shortlisted three bidders for a public-private partnership contract to build a factory to produce 5000 EMU cars over a period of 12 years. The selected supplier will also maintain the trains for 13 years.