NS involves Fyra train maker’s Italian parent company in claim

Dutch railway company NS is holding Italian company Finmeccanica jointly responsible for the Fyra high-speed train problems, public broadcaster Nos reports on Wednesday.

NS is already taking action against Finmeccanica’s subsidiary AnsaldoBreda which made the trains.

The Dutch state-owned company is demanding hundreds of millions of euros in damages from the Italian firm and says it is involving the parent company in case AnsaldoBreda is not financially strong enough to pay up. Finmeccanica guaranteed the project, Nos says.

Compensation

NS paid €200m for the trains which it wants back, plus compensation for the lost income and extra costs. Finmeccanica has not so far responded, Nos says.

At the weekend, the Telegraaf published part of a confidential investigation by British technology agency Mott MacDonald which said the Fyra trains meet the specifications in the agreement made between NS and AnsaldoBreda.

While there are countless small problems, these could all be solved within 17 months, the Telegraaf quoted the report as saying.

Reports

The two companies are currently embroiled in several court cases. One centres on AnsaldoBreda’s demand for access to three technical reports on the problems with the trains.

AnsaldoBreda wants to see the reports drawn up by Dutch railways NS and Belgian railways NMBS which resulted in the cancellation of the two train companies’ orders for more Fyra trains and high-speed services between Amsterdam and Brussels being suspended.

Fyra trains were suspended in early January after snow and ice damaged three trains. The NS and NMBS blame the poor quality of the trains; AnsaldoBreda blames poor maintenance.