Chiltern Railways has discontinued its call for proposals for the supply of a fleet of battery-electric multiple-units. In September 2022 the operator invited proposals for the supply of between 30 and 70 new, existing or converted BEMUs. However, the procurement process was not progressing, and on August 13 Chiltern confirmed that it had been stopped.
Rail Business UK understands the decision was taken because of changes to Department for Transport processes for making the case for ordering new trains and because the technical requirements have changed. The operator now has a better understanding of the difficulties of accessing the national electrical supply grid along the Chiltern route.
