Mark on Prime Time

[Jamie2k9]

Originally Posted by James Shields

Well the cynical answer is simple economics. In the original tender there were multiple bidders competing for the contract. I would assume that if there was any option for extra units in the original contract, it's long expired. Bottom line is there is only one supplier (and certainly only one supplier who can produce them reasonably quickly), and IÉ have to pay what they want to charge.

A slightly less cynical answer is that Hyundai/Rotem have to dust off a 12-year old design for a relatively small production run, so it's only natural that costs have risen.

This is the original contract another operator couldn’t bid to produce them. Yes figures are from 2016 and they would have approached H/R for estimates. 50% increase in 3 years is very high but given the NTA are in charge should I be surprised.

The price made this an attractive option back then (and time), a new fleet could be got for 150 million to do actual commuter work. The benefits are long gone!