MONTREAL (AP) -- Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state-owned railway, has signed a framework agreement with Bombardier to buy 800 train cars in a deal with worth up to $2.1 billion.
The agreement would see Bombardier Transportation build 800 double-deck coaches for Deutsche Bahn, which was formed in 1994 during the restructuring of the country's railways following reunification.
Bombardier Transportation President Andre Navarri said in a statement Monday that it's the largest framework agreement for vehicles that Deutsche Bahn has ever awarded to a single supplier.
Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn said the company must have the courage to invest in the future despite the global slowdown.
"Precisely because worldwide economic growth is being assessed so skeptically, we must have the courage to invest in the future," Mehdorn said in a statement.
"Efficient, high-capacity transportation systems require a state-of-the-art vehicle fleet with energy-saving trains that can be flexibly combined and driven."
Bombardier is world's second-largest trainmaker. Its rail division has its global headquarters in Berlin.