Alstom has been nominated by RATP, mandated by STIF and SGP], as metro train supplier for lines 1, 4, 6, 11 and 14 of the Paris metro and the Grand Paris.

The contract is for a maximum of 217 MP14 trains over a period of 15 years and is worth a total amount of more than €2 billion. A first firm order, for an amount of around €500 million, concerns 35 eight-car metros for line 14.

According to Alstom Transport, this contract is expected to follow by a second order for up to 37 trains for extensions to this line and then conditional options.

Alstom tells that, MP14, the latest-generation rubber-tired metro is designed to improve passenger experience, combines performance, low energy consumption and ease of maintenance to optimize the costs throughout its lifecycle.

It offers, according to company, an extraordinary level of comfort and security thanks to new ergonomic seating, LED lighting, fluid exchanges, on-board information, video-protection, and specific facilities such as inductive loops for the hard of hearing.

Its 100% electric braking system recovers energy and injects it into the network in the form of electricity, thus avoiding the emission of fine particles from brake pads.

This system reduces air pollution as well as the metro’s energy consumption by up to 20 %. MP14 will thus become the new reference for sustainable mobility.

This contract award is fresh proof of the confidence placed in Alstom. It has mobilized the entire French rail industry around a product that is innovative, efficient and competitive. Passengers will appreciate its comfort and reliability, says Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Alstom Transport President in a company press release.

The majority of Alstom Transport’s 12 sites in France will contribute to this project: Valenciennes for the research and integration, le Creusot for the bogies, Ornans for the motors, Villeurbanne for the onboard electronics, Aix-en-Provence for the security system, Tarbes for the traction, Reichshoffen for collision avoidance research and Saint-Ouen for the design.

Thanks to this project, the company declares, more than 2,000 jobs will be sustained for Alstom and its suppliers in France.

Clarifications: RATP: Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, STIF: Syndicat des Transports d'Île-de-France and SGP: Société du Grand Paris

Source:  Alstom