Bidding for Government’s £4bn Intercity deal on hold

Bidders for the Government’s £4bn train
building programme, which includes major UK lessors,  have
been given more time to submit their draft plans for a new
generation of Intercity express trains, according to The
Guardian.
Only two bidders remain in the competition to build between 500 and
2000 new high speed train carriages: Hitachi Europe and a
consortium comprised of Canadian engineering group Bombadier,
German conglomerate Siemens and train lessors Angel Trains and
Babcock & Brown. The consortium formed by rail manufacturer,
Alstom and Barclays Private Equity have withdrawn from the bidding
process and the bids have been extended from May 7 to June
30.
The remaining bidders allegedly have concerns about the financial
risk involved in the project and also the procurement process,
according to The Guardian’s report. Nevertheless,
transport analysts have commented that the train order is highly
significant for Britain’s rail routes, which includes east coast,
Great Western and East Midlands lines, with a separate order of
Pendolino trains for the west coast line.