Bombardier Transportation signed a contract with Corelink Rail Infrastructure and West Midlands Trains to supply 333 new Bombardier Aventra vehicles for use on the United Kingdom's West Midlands Trains franchise, together with a maintenance and support services contract. Corelink Rail Infrastructure is a joint venture between Deutsche Asset Management and Infracapital, and West Midlands Trains is a joint venture consisting of Abellio UK, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui).

The overall value of the rolling stock and maintenance contracts are valued at approximately $724 million. The maintenance contract will run for the duration of the franchise with an option to extend in line with any franchise extensions. Both contract signatures follow the previous customer announcement made Oct. 17, 2017 naming Bombardier Transportation as the preferred bidder.

Bombardier will produce and maintain 333 electric carriages made up of 36 90 mph three-car trains for metro services and 45 110 mph five-car trains for outer suburban and long distance configurations. Built at Bombardier's facility in Derby, the Aventra product family platform has the flexibility to meet several market segment needs and complements the fleets that have already been ordered for Transport for London's Elizabeth line (Crossrail), London Overground's LOTrain, and the South Western Railway and Greater Anglia franchises.

Abellio, JR East and Mitsui were announced as the winners of the West Midlands franchise by the Department for Transport in August and will operate the franchise from Dec. 10. The new trains are expected to be delivered between 2020 and 2022.