The German railway Deutsche Bahn (DB) said on Jan. 5 it would buy up to 1.5 billion euros (US$2 billion) worth of train cars from Bombardier.
The contract was for options on up to 800 double-decker train cars for regional German service, a DB statement said.
"In these difficult economic times, we have decided to invest in the future," the statement quoted DB head Hartmut Mehdorn as saying. "We wanted to send a signal on economic policy," he added.
The head of Bombardier Transport, a subsidiary of the Canadian group specializing in rail operations, Andre Navarri, noted that "it is the biggest framework agreement ever signed between Deutsche Bahn with a single supplier."
Transformation of the options to firm deliveries could begin in 2011, and the contract would run until 2020, a DB spokeswoman said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
