On 27 June 2013 the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that Siemens, working in partnership with Cross London Trains (XLT) had been awarded a contract worth some 1.8 billion EUR to build 115 Desiro City EMUs (60 eight-car and 55 12-car trains, in all 1,140 cars), a key step in the development of the Thameslink Programme.