JERUSALEM, July 31 (Xinhua) -- State-owned company Israel Railways will purchase new train cars with 1.7 billion euros (about 1.87 billion U.S. dollars) to improve train service, said a statement issued by the company on Monday.
The company's board of directors approved on Monday the extensive purchase to improve train service and reduce passenger loads by extending the trains up to 12 cars each, the statement noted.
It will add another 22 million seats on an annual basis, and help increase the number of train rides in Israel to about 105 million in 2025 and 300 million in 2040, the statement added.
The purchase includes 96 red double-decker cars manufactured by the French rolling stock giant Alstom and 81 white electric railcars from German tech company Siemens.
The equipment will allow replacing lower capacity single-decker trains with ones each carrying more than 1,000 seated passengers, according to the ministry.
