On June 25, the first subway train manufactured by the Siemens — NEWAG S.A. Consortium for Metropolitan EAD left NEWAG’s headquarters in Nowy Sącz heading for Sofia – the capital of Bulgaria.
Under the signed contract, the Consortium will deliver 20 three-section underground trains and a traffic control system within 36 months since signing the contract. The new trains are based on Inspiro platform i.e., the same which was used in the trains supplied for Warsaw Metro. They will have some differences, among other, they will have pantographs mounted because these trains will be dedicated for operation both in tunnels and on ground-level lines.
The vehicle is going to be transported as special oversize cargo. This entails, among other, that it must be transported at night and in special convoy of other pilot cars in order to ensure the maximum security while travelling on public roads. Due to its big size, the subway train has been divided into modules which will be shipped on three separate lorries. Each module has been properly protected for the duration of the journey. They will cover the route exceeding 1100km via Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia all the way to Bulgaria. The scheduled transportation time is five nights and the unloading will start around July 2, 2018.
The contract signed between METROPOLITAN EAD and Siemens — Newag Consortium, comprising Siemens A.G. with registered office in Vienna, Siemens EOOD with registered office in Sofia and NEWAG S.A., stipulates an option for an additional ten trains. The total net value of the contract (covering the infrastructure development and the supply of subway trains) including the option (additional ten trains) is BGN 418,304,632.56 (PLN 905,420,377.18 according to an average NBP exchange rate as of the date of signing the contract.)
The estimated net value of the work designated for NEWAG (including the option) is BGN 109,330,897 (PLN 236,646,726.56 according to an average NBP exchange rate as of the date of signing the contract), of which BGN 73,148,042 (PLN 158,328,936.91 according to an average NBP exchange rate as of the date of signing the contract) net for the basic scope (20 trains) and BGN 36,182,855 (PLN 78,317,789.64 according to an average NBP exchange rate as of the date of signing the contract) net if the client exercises the right of option and orders another ten trains.
The new subway trains will start operation in 2018.