Alstom boss: “In Toulouse, we are building a new generation metro”
Until February 9, rue Alsace, Toulouse residents can discover a life-size model of a car from the future 3rd metro line. The president of Alstom, the constructor of the frames, Jean-Baptiste Eymeoud, was yesterday in Toulouse.
Jean-Baptiste Eymeoud, the president of Alstom France, the French company which won the contract to build the trains and the automatic system for the 3rd metro line, was yesterday in Toulouse for the unveiling of the life-size model of a car. A model installed until February 9 rue Alsace.
What are the trains of the 3rd line of the metro for?
They were born out of a two-year collaboration between Tisséo, designers and Alstom in partnership with user associations, in particular associations for the disabled. Tisséo made his choice and retained colors which are those of the region (the blue of the pastel and the brick which one already finds on the buses, Editor’s note). This has resulted in an indoor and outdoor delivery that I hope everyone will enjoy.
Will there be innovations compared to the trains we know?
We will offer the user all the new technologies: in terms of air conditioning, information, security… We will work a lot on the luminosity with large bay windows, LEDs with variable intensity depending on the light of the day, which gives different atmospheres. And then it’s a vehicle that will be bigger than the existing frames. So more comfort, safety, luminosity and capacity for the user. It is a new generation metro that will incorporate all of Alstom’s know-how.
The big difference will be the width and therefore the ability to take on more people?
We will deliver a two-car system that will double the capacity to 5,000 passengers per car (per hour per direction). That is 10,000 passengers per train. By eventually adding a third vehicle, the current capacity will be tripled.
What are the other specificities?
We are working on hardware maintenance. It’s less visible but it’s important for the operator and it corresponds to an important part of the contract. This material goes circular for at least 40 years. And then we change the focus to power consumption. The new generations of metro offer more efficient equipment. And our metro, during braking, will reinject energy into the electrical network whereas before it was dissipated in the form of heat. This allows significant savings.
When will the trains be built?
We are launching train production in 2024 for delivery in early 2027. There is no threat of delay. We are progressing well.
The metro will be integrated in Poland and partly in France. What are the economic benefits for our region?
The final assembly of the metro is done in Poland because the platform had already been manufactured on site so we didn’t want to move it. And we needed a competitive solution. On the other hand, services are carried out in France: the design in Saint-Ouen, the equipment, for example in Tarbes for the traction equipment, in Creusot for the bogies, etc. In summary, 70% of the contents of the entire contract are French. Teams are also already in Toulouse. At the peak of the site, during the installation of the infrastructure, 400 people will work for Alstom in Toulouse.
A showcase for Alstom
The French train and metro manufacturer has beaten the competition by winning the contract to build the 3rd line trains (which includes the automatic system and maintenance). Alstom was only present in Toulouse with the tramway, Siemens having built the frameworks for lines A and B. The €718 million contract was signed with Tisséo Collectivités at the end of 2020. “This is one of the rare projects in France in which a manufacturer is entrusted with a complete batch: automation, rolling stock, etc. For us, this will be a showcase. It’s a great challenge for Alstom”, assures Jean-Baptiste Eymeoud.