Fyra manufacturer pays Belgian rail company €2.5 million

The national rail authority SNCB/NMBS and the Italian rolling stock manufacturer AnsaldoBreda have reached a settlement in the dispute over the ill-fated Fyra train. AnsaldoBreda will pay the SNCB/NMBS €2.5 million in damages.

The Fyra train was the intended replacement for the Benelux train between Brussels and Amsterdam, and began service in December 2012. It was suspended only weeks later, following a series of failures: carriages were broken, parts were missing, dangerous wiring was exposed and a majority of trains were cancelled or delayed due to mechanical problems.

At the time, SNCB/NMBS was also being heavily criticised by customers and consumer organisations because of the cancelling of the convenient and less expensive Benelux service. The new Fyra link between Brussels and Amsterdam was more expensive, took longer, required a reservation and did not include a number of familiar stops.

When the Fyra service was brought to an end in January 2013, SNCB/NMBS also cancelled the delivery of three new trains. “After thorough investigation, it appears that the design of the V250 train displays fundamental shortcomings, with possible severe consequences for reliability as well as safety,” the NMBS said in a statement.

The Dutch rail authority NS also had a dispute with AnsaldoBreda, but that case has already been settled. NS paid €213 million for trains delivered and received €125 million in settlement of damages.

The final settlement with SNCB/NMBS is far below the €27 million in damages originally sought, not to mention a penalty of €12.7 million demanded for late delivery of trains. AnsaldoBreda had offered to pay €6.5 million on condition that the then CEO of SNCB/NMBS, Marc Descheemaecker, stated publicly that the quality of the trains’ construction was satisfactory. Descheemaecker refused, and the deal fell through.

SNCB/NMBS has already had €37 million in deposit payments returned by a court ruling. “We have been reimbursed for our entire investment in the trains,” a spokesperson said.

photo courtesy of Smiley.toerist/Wikimedia Commons