France-based multinational Alstom has confirmed it will provide 12 trainsets to French open access high speed rail operator Proxima.
Alstom will provide 12 Avelia Horizon “very high speed” trains and a 15-year maintenance package.
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The double-decker high-speed trains are expected to be delivered by 2028 for use on the Atlantic lines, also targeted by other French open access firms like Le Train.
The order cost is reportedly close to €850m ($937m) for the latest generation of Avelia units.
Alstom said the latest train design is “innovative” with shorter power cars and articulated dual-level passenger cars. The Avelia Horizon complies with the recent industry trend of reducing bogies, to cut down possible maintenance and reliability issues – which often stem from the crowded hardware on bogie units. Alstom claimed that its new layout would cut MRO costs by 30%.
Along with its competitors, Proxima has lauded its use of the existing rail infrastructure and production facilities within France. It said 10 of 16 Alstom sites in France will be utilised to produce the trains, without any design or production taking place outside of France.
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By GlobalDataAlstom sites used for the Proxima contract include:
Belfort for power cars; La Rochelle for passenger cars and project management; Villeurbanne for the control-command computer system, passenger information system and on-board equipment; Ornans for engines; Le Creusot for bogies; Tarbes for traction and electrical cabinets; EDC Toulouse for electrical circuits; and Petit-Quevilly for transformers.
