French transport group Alstom and its Chinese joint venture Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment (Satee) have won two contracts worth €75m to supply new traction system.

The new Optonix traction system will be used for over 550 metro cars on Chengdu metro lines 3 and 4 and Xi’an metro line 3. The lines are scheduled to operate from 2015.

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Designed and developed specifically for the Chinese market, Optonix will feature motors and auxiliary converters produced by Satee and supported by Alstom’s design unit in Charleroi, Belgium.

"This is Alstom’s first batch of metro contracts in central and western China."

The system claims to reduce travel time due to optimised acceleration and deceleration increasing train frequency.

Chengdu is expected to have 10 metro lines with 350km by 2020, while Xi’an will consist of six metro lines by 2018.

Alstom Transport Asia Pacific senior vice-president Dominique Pouliquen said: "This is Alstom’s first batch of metro contracts in central and western China, marking a strategic breakthrough for us in China.

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"With a strong localisation strategy combined with enhanced R&D and engineering capabilities, Alstom, through our Satee JV, has reinforced its leading position in traction systems in the booming Chinese market."

The €42m contract with Chengdu Metro was booked in December 2013, while a €33m deal with Xi’an Metro was booked in November last year.

Alstom has supplied Optonix traction systems to over 1,400 metro cars in Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Nanjing and Hong Kong over the last few years.

Alstom’s Chengdu office will oversee business development activities in western China, while its joint venture Xi’an Alstom Yongji Electric Equipment is engaged in the manufacture, assembly, testing, and warranting of traction motors.

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