Siemens Transportation Systems (TS) is to supply 86 passenger coaches to Israel Railways worth € 125 million. There is also an option to provide up to 585 further coaches. "This order signals a breakthrough for TS on the Israeli market and simultaneously underlines our role as a globally recognized systems supplier to the railway industry", commented Hans M. Schabert, TS Group President.

The passenger coaches are to be used as reversible trains traveling at speeds of up to 160 kilometers an hour in the intercity and regional rail network. The individual trains each consist of nine intermediate cars and a generator car, including passenger saloons and driver's cab. Three intermediate cars have special facilities for people whose mobility is impaired. The locomotives will be provided by Israel Railways.

The engineering and project management for this order will be handled by Siemens in Vienna and Graz, whereas the car bodies will be built by Siemens SKV in Prague, with final assembly taking place in Israel. The coaches are to be delivered over a period stretching from the end of 2007 to mid-2009. In February, Siemens also received a € 244 million passenger coach order from the Austrian Federal Railway.