Bombardier Transportation will supply an additional 54 double-deck coaches to Israel Railways, under the terms of a contract signed on Dec. 31, which is worth approximately US$126 million ($158 million), according to the announcement.

This will bring a total of 512 TWINDEXX Vario coaches that Bombardier Transportation, a Berlin-based division of Bombardier Inc., which is headquartered in Montreal, has built for Israel Railways since 2010.

The latest coaches, to be delivered by August 2020, will operate on the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem line, which is currently under construction. Originally scheduled to be in operation in April, the latest reports indicate that the line won’t be up and running until at least the end of the year.

“We considered local and international standards to ensure and further increase safety for both operator and passengers, while keeping comfort in mind,” said Avi Zalman, head of development and engineering in Israel Railways’ rolling stock division.

“We look forward to Bombardier continuing the on-time and on-quality delivery of our double-deck coaches, so we can provide the expected reliability and availability for this important new A1 line.”

The new batch of electric locomotives will have the advantage of not relying on a diesel generator to power auxiliary systems, such as air-conditioning.

Existing coaches are being upgraded at Bombardier’s shop in Haifa, so that they will be able to reach speeds of 160 km/h.