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SJ 250

Under its Delta 2.0 project Sweden's SJ AB begin procuring Zefiro Express high-speed trains from Bombardier Transportation, later Alstom, during the 2020s.[1]

The SJ 250 was electric multiple unit train fleet is planned to have fixed formations measuring up to 179 metres (587 ft), operating up to 250 km/h (160 mph) and be capable of working across Sweden, Denmark and Norway down to temperatures of −40 °C (−40 °F).[1][2]

SJ's aim is for these trains to replace the need for air travel between capital cities within Scandinavian.[2] Delivery of the fleet is expected during 2026‒2028.[3]

Design

Trains will have bicycle spaces, 363 seats, and a bistro area.[4][5]

The front of each train will include a snowplough, with the nosecone designed for collisions with wildlife weighing up to 330 kilograms (730 lb).[6]

A backup battery is available in the event of overhead line failure.[4][5]

Windows will be radio-transparent to allow radio and communication signals to pass through.[5]

Construction

Carriage bodyshells are constructed in China, then shipped to Hennigsdorf in Germany.[7]

Testing and assembly is planned for the LEW Hennigsdorf site north of Berlin, which has its own track facility and train simulation facilities.[2]

Knorr-Bremse is supplying its "CubeController" railway air brake equipment for the trains.[8]

Alstom's site in Trápaga, Spain, is supplying propulsion equipment.[9]

Doors are constructed by IFE, part of Knorr-Bremse.[8]

The first two bodyshells arrived at Alstom's German plant in March 2025.[7]

Funding

The expected price for 25 trains was SEK 7 billion (€640 million; $620 million).[6]

Contract finalisation had been delayed by a European Court of Justice ruling covering application of the Swedish Act on Procurement in the Water, Energy, Transport and Postal Services Sectors [sv] (LUF, (SFS 2016:1146).[10]

In 2023 the European Investment Bank loaned €155 million (SEK 1.7 billon), followed by another €157 million (SEK 1.7 billon) in 2025.[11][3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Project Delta 2.0, Reference number: P.0512". Tenders Electronic Daily. Direct award preannouncement. Publications Office of the European Union. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2025-05-10. The production, manufacturing and delivery of electric multiple unit trains for long-distance travel having a maximum length of 179 meters, … 360 passenger seats, … 250 kilometers per hour … in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. … between 25 and 30 trains with an option for SJ to order up to in total 40 trains
  2. ^ a b c "Tu powstaną pociągi, które mają Szwedom zastąpić samoloty" [Trains to replace planes for the Swedes will be built here]. Rynek Kolejowy (in Polish). espół Doradców Gospodarczych TOR. 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2025-05-10. fabryki w Henningsdorf … zakład przeszedł najpierw w ręce Adtranz, następnie Bombardiera a na koniec – Alstomu. … nowe pociągi SJ 250 dla Kolei Szwedzkich. … Same pociągi o prędkości maksymalnej 250 km/h będą nie tylko najszybsze w Skandynawii, ale i najbardziej komfortowe wśród … Znajdzie się tu m. in. samoobsługowa kawiarenka, … Skład będzie miał aż 3,18 metra szerokości we wnętrzu oraz całkowicie płaską podłogę. … w warunkach temperaturowych do -40 stopni. … po wprowadzeniu składów do ruchu na trasie Sztokholm – Oslo – Kopenhaga, jest całkowita eliminacja potrzeby uruchamiania transportu lotniczego pomiędzy tymi stolicami. … Jedną z nich jest symulator pociągu – odwzorowuje on wszystkie komponenty elektroniczne składu na etapie, na którym pudło jest dopiero projektowane. Pozwala to na rozpoczęcie pisania i testów oprogramowania jednocześnie z budową pierwszego pudła, … Bardzo istotny jest też tor testowy obsługujący aż kilkanaście systemów zasilania – w tym wszystkie spotykane w Europie … Jest tu też 400-metrowa „górka" (tor nachyleniu 14 promili) oraz tor na którym można bez pozwoleń rozpędzić skład do 140 km/h. Ogólna długość torów centrum testowego to aż 4,1 km
  3. ^ a b Eriksson, Thomas (2023-12-20). "Sweden: EIB signs SEK 1.75 billion loan agreement with SJ to finance purchase of 25 new trains" (Press release). European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2025-05-10. SEK 175 000 million loan (€154.8 million) agreement with SJ AB. … acquisition of 25 high-speed trains with maximum speed of up to 250 km/h to operate in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. … initially … Stockholm‒Malmö route, … then further to Copenhagen … as well as to Oslo. … enter commercial service between 2026 and 2028.
  4. ^ a b "SJ orders 250 km/h trains as 'the best travel product in Scandinavia'". Railway Gazette International (with photo gallery). 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2025-05-11. The Zefiro Express trains will be designed to operate in harsh weather conditions, at temperatures down to −40°C, and will be equipped with back-up batteries to keep them moving if the power supply fails. … 363 seats, space for bicycles and luggage, sound deadening measures and a bistro offering hot food.
  5. ^ a b c "Alstom and SJ signed the high-speed train contract". 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2025-05-11. special areas for bicycles, good luggage and a fully equipped SJ Bistro with seating areas. … radio-transparent windows, quiet carriages and the train can be moved with battery operation to handle disturbances
  6. ^ a b Burroughs, David (2022-09-19). "Alstom begins design for SJ's 250km/h fleet". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 2025-05-10. Hennigsdorf plant … SKr 7bn ($US 620.9 million) order is part of SJ's SKr 12bn investment in new trains and refurbishment of existing rolling stock … contract was signed in April [2022] after Alstom was named as the winner of the contract in December 2021. … operate in temperatures of -40°C … start the train in the cold mornings … wheelchair lift. … plough at the front to remove snow from the track. … serious animal strikes, … up to 330kg. … nose with three parts … to allow the train to continue to the next station following a collision.
  7. ^ a b Becker, Roland (2025-04-15). "Züge aus Hennigsdorf für Schweden – welche Rolle China spielt" [Trains from Hennigsdorf for Sweden – what role China plays]. Märkische Oderzeitung (in German). Retrieved 2025-05-11. Derzeit werden noch Züge für Schweden produziert. … Vorgefertigt werden sie in China. Laut [Heiko] Engelmann seien die ersten in der zweiten Märzhälfte gelieferten Wagenkästen mit zwei Wochen Verspätung
  8. ^ a b "SJ fleet to deploy novel brake control system". 2023-09-06. Retrieved 2025-05-11. CubeControl brake control system on a fleet of high speed trains for Sweden … supply of bogie equipment and compressed-air supply units for the braking systems. Knorr-Bremse is also to supply wiper-wash systems for the driver's cabs, windscreens, power electronics … doors to be manufactured by the company's IFE subsidiary. … including braking distances that can be reproduced consistently in all conditions.
  9. ^ "Alstom's Trápaga site in Spain to supply propulsion for 25 high-speed trains for Sweden" (Press release). Alstom. 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2025-05-11. Alstom's industrial centre in Trápaga, Spain, will be in charge of supplying the propulsion system for the new Zefiro Express high-speed trains, which Alstom will supply to Sweden's national operator SJ. … Part of Alstom's Avelia family, … 363 seats. The carriage width, electrical systems, and signalling systems have been developed with an understanding that the trains will run in both Sweden and Denmark, … also be certified for traffic in Norway.
  10. ^ Burroughs, David (2020-07-13). "SJ to order Bombardier EMUs, despite European Court of Justice ruling". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 2025-05-11. … new 250km/h fleet of 25‒30 trains in 2017 as part of Project Delta, which also involves the modernisation of the X2000 fleet and an overhaul of SJ's sleeper coaches. … judgment by the ECJ on 28 February 2019 reversed this, finding that SJ does have an obligation to apply LUF … SJ says that its knowledge of the market and the negotiations undertaken as part of Project Delta had made it obvious that Bombardier was objectively the only economic operator capable of delivering a fleet that met the operator's needs,
  11. ^ "SJ Rolling Stock". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2025-05-10. Sweden : € 312,091,571.2 … Signature date(s) [2025-02-24]: €156,908,455.12 … [2023-12-13]: € 155,183,116.08