Little compensation next to the contract of the lost century on the sale of French submarines. Alstom announced Monday the signing of a € 300 million contract with the State of Victoria in Australia. The French manufacturer will supply 25 commuter trains to Melbourne, the second most populous city in the country. “Designed and manufactured in the state of Victoria, Australia, the trains will be made of at least 60% local materials,” the company statement said.
This order is part of a design process with the Victoria Department of Transportation, which includes Melbourne and Canberra, over a two-year period. Alstom has a local production site in Ballarat.
The “most reliable trains”
“Alstom is delighted to continue its partnership with the Government of Victoria and the local supply chain through which we will continue to manufacture trains for Victoria to Victoria”, commented Mark Coxon, Managing Director of Alstom Australia and New Zealand , who specifies that Alstom had already supplied the city with “its most reliable trains over the past twenty years”.
This announcement comes as a crisis has arisen between France and Australia after the termination of the contract for the sale of conventional submarines from the French group Naval Group to the Australian government.