The Kyiv Metro has once again announced a tender for the purchase of 50 railcars as part of the "Kyiv Urban Transport Modernization II" project, financed through a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the metro operator reported.
According to the announcement, the tender includes the purchase of ten five-car trains with an open gangway design ("tube"), including the supply of spare parts, consumables, equipment, and tools for the maintenance and repair of the rolling stock.
The procurement will be conducted as an open tender with prior qualification. The deadline for submitting proposals for the first stage is May 2025.
As previously reported, the first similar tender in August 2023 was won by Kriukiv Railway Car Building Works (KVBZ), which offered 10 trains for EUR 79.2 million (including VAT), which was 37% cheaper than the offer from the second participant, the Czech company Škoda.
KVBZ proposed a metro train with an asynchronous traction drive, consisting of three motorized and two trailer (non-motorized) cars, with domestically produced bogies, a total length of 97 meters, and a passenger capacity of 1,650 people.
However, in November of the same year, "Kyiv Metro" canceled its decision to award the contract to KVBZ. In response, the railcar manufacturer attempted to challenge this decision in the Commercial Court of Kyiv but was unsuccessful.
The court ruling, which denied KVBZ's claim, came into force in November 2024.
According to court materials, Kyiv justified its decision to cancel the contract award by stating that KVBZ attempted to replace the main equipment supplier (including control systems, traction power and equipment, traction gearboxes, and the train control system) from the Spanish company CAF (which had been approved by the EBRD) to Polish or Japanese companies.
KVBZ, in turn, argued that the supplier change was due to CAF’s refusal to supply equipment to the factory because of its production line being fully booked. However, Kyiv Metro denied KVBZ's request to change suppliers, as it contradicted the tender conditions.
As previously reported, in February 2021, the EBRD and the Kyiv Metro signed a loan agreement for EUR 50 million to purchase 50 new metro cars.
The "tube" metro trains are planned for the Syretsko-Pecherska metro line towards the Vynohradar residential area, where construction resumed in 2024.
According to Kyiv Metro, its current rolling stock includes over 830 railcars. However, around 100 of them will soon reach the end of their operational lifespan.
