Leasing company Leo Mobility Management has ordered 200 Neo modular passenger coaches from Hungarian manufacturer Magyar Vagon Vasúti Kft, with interiors that operators can configure for capacities ranging from 150 perch-seat places down to 40 berths in sleeper layout.

LMM announced the deal at InnoTrans 2026, alongside the launch of its TrainShop modular train configuration platform. The company was established by Leoš Novotný, founder of open-access operator Leo Express, with backing from Czech investment company Creditas Group. It positions itself as a supplier of 'actionable rolling stock solutions to European passenger operators', spanning refurbished second-hand Evo vehicles and purpose-built Neo coaches.

How does the configuration model work?

TrainShop lets operators specify a complete train, including locomotives, and configure passenger interiors to match the service. The platform then produces a financial plan and delivery schedule, and the customer selects a preferred financing method for the lease. For state-owned operators, it also processes tender documentation to comply with European legislative and regulatory requirements.

LMM anticipates a delivery lead time of around two years for a trainset — a figure operators can now benchmark against incumbent manufacturers' orderbooks, several of which stretch well beyond that horizon.

What can operators change inside a Neo coach?

The coaches will be designed for operation at up to 200 km/h and will carry full TSI certification. Interiors assemble from standardised modules under a design concept developed by NeoMind. Customers configure the layout according to route type, capacity and service level:

• High-density: 150 places with perch seats
• Standard economy: 104 seats
• Business: 50 seats
• Sleeper: 40 places
• Mixed classes within a single vehicle

'Operators today need vehicles that let them respond to demand as flexibly as possible,' said LMM Chief Operating Officer David Šebestík. 'They must not assign vehicles to individual services simply based on what happens to be available.'

He framed the Neo programme as 'a new European standard: a coach with a clearly defined, universal technical base whose interior can be adapted to the specific service.'

Who is building them?

Magyar Vagon Vasúti is based in Szolnok and specialises in building and repairing rolling stock, particularly for Hungarian national operator MÁV Személyszállítási Zrt, which holds a 25% stake in the business. The Magyar Vagon group owns the remaining 75% and previously owned the Dunakeszi Járműjavító plant before the Hungarian state took it over.

'European rail needs manufacturers who understand the needs of individual operators in detail,' said MVV CEO Dr László Ludvig. 'We take LMM's decision to choose MVV for the first series as confirmation that we are one of them.'

Ludvig said the design philosophy responds to how quickly operator requirements now shift. 'We know that their requirements change faster than a coach reaches the end of its life. The design must adapt to that, and the Neo platform has been developed around this philosophy from the outset,' he said. 'A manufacturer today has to expect its coaches to lead a more varied life than in the past.'

The order value and delivery dates for the 200 coaches remain undisclosed, and no operator has yet been named as the launch customer for the type. With the platform unveiled and the manufacturing partner secured, the next test for LMM is converting TrainShop's configuration and financing pitch into signed leases with European operators.