the SNCF's mega order at Alstom

The Council This morning, SNCF's board of directors approved the mega-order of 100 new-generation high-speed trains manufactured by Alstom, worth almost € 3 billion.

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The first examples of these trainsets will come into service in 2023, for deliveries spread out until 2033. This TGV of the future is the fruit of an innovation partnership, a new This type of public contract began in 2016 with Alstom with the aim of creating a fifth-generation TGV that breaks with the old models, both in terms of competitiveness and cost reduction in its manufacture and operation. In the end, the bill is lower for the carrier. Each train costs 25 million euros (instead of 30 million euros for a duplex), and the SNCF allocates 1.6 million euros of equipment (technology, seating, comfort) to each of them.

Renew aging models

With built-in Wi-Fi as soon as it is built, this two-level TGV will be able to accommodate up to 740 pbadengers, ie 200 more customers than in traditional duplex trains. These new trains will allow SNCF to renew its aging models that date back to 1980 and gain in profitability at the time of opening the market to competition. It is "a major badet for SNCF, an instrument of conquest in a European market open to competition," insisted Guillaume Pepy, president of the carrier's board of directors.

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For Alstom, in full redemption by Siemens, this order is a bargain. It is expected to provide work for eight of its twelve French sites, including La Rochelle, Belfort and Le Creusot. In total, nearly 4,000 jobs should be created thanks to this record contract.