[IMAGE]Alstom-biz-resize.jpg[/IMAGE]German railway operator Deutsche Bahn Regio has placed an order with Alstom Transport for 16 Coradia Lint regional trains, totaling approximately $60 million. The trains will serve the North network of Schleswig-Holstein and will begin commercial service in December 2011.

This is the first order of a framework contract signed in 2008 between DB and Alstom involving the design and manufacture of a maximum of 180 Coradia Lint.

Coradia Lint trains, which are diesel-engined vehicles made up of two coaches, will be manufactured in the Alstom factory in Salzgitter, Germany. They can operate at speeds of up to approximately 75 mph. Each train can accommodate 130 passengers.

The continuous low-floor, mobile pallets located at the entrance and gangways between the coaches improve boarding and access, in particular for people with reduced mobility. The trains are also equipped with tactile pictograms for the partially sighted, as well as toilets arranged for passengers with disabilities. The trains are also built according to Alstom's environmental policy and are 95 percent recyclable.

Since the launch of the first trains in 2000, Alstom has sold 470 Coradia Lint in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. The trains have covered over 350 million kilometers in commercial service.

"With this new contract, Deutsche Bahn, which already ordered over 140 Coradia Lint for several networks in Germany, has confirmed the trust in our regional train range," explains Alstom's Roland Kientz, North Europe senior vice president.