Selling more TGVs internationally is a priority for Alstom. However, high-speed line projects are multiplying on the planet, the ecological transition obliges. Good news for the French manufacturer (but also for its competitors).
In Canada, the federal government published in March 2022 a “request for expressions of interest” for a proposed dedicated passenger-only line between Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec.
Objective: deploy a high-frequency train (TGF) between these cities, to stop using the existing line where freight trains have priority, causing multiple delays.
Investment amount: between 6 and 12 billion Canadian dollars (4 to 8 billion euros).
And why not a TGV? “The TGV would cost much more and take much longer to build,” justified the Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra.
But things have changed a bit. Some Quebec elected officials have advocated for this connection to be wholly or partially at high speed. A request relayed and supported by Alstom, which has multiplied requests for this line to be LGV (high speed) and use its TGV trains for as long as possible.
“As long as you put amounts like these, as long as it is in the most profitable investment possible and that brings the highest economic and social impact,” he explains to the Montreal Daily, Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom for the Americas.
Speed accelerates modal shift according to Alstom
For the manufacturer, which says TGV, says more passengers carried, more modal shift despite obviously higher acquisition costs. “We see it in all the countries that have made this choice: with speed, we move the mode of transport much more than initially expected,” continues the leader.
These arguments appear to have been heard. According to our colleagues, the initial government project has been modified.
Initially, Transport Canada (the federal ministry of transport) mentioned a maximum speed of 200 km/h for this line with high-frequency trains, now companies interested in this project can offer “higher speeds in certain segments”. The door open to the TGV.
With a train traveling at speeds of up to 300 km/h, Toronto would be less than 3 hours from the province of la belle, compared to 5 today. “There, the benefit of the train becomes evident”, continues Michael Keroullé.
Another strong argument for Alstom, since the acquisition of its Canadian competitor Bombardier, the Caisse des dépôts et displacement du Québec has become its main shareholder with 17.5%.
According to our information, this year the definitive call for this high-speed line will be published partially or totally.
For Alstom, the current export prospects for its TGV (which today is more of a platform adaptable to different customers like the latest TGV-M for the SNCF) are becoming numerous and therefore strategic.
The manufacturer thus has an annual growth of 12% in the high-speed market. Globally, high speed accounts for about 10% of the annual train market, or about €4 billion a year.
In addition to a contract in South Korea (under the name KTX) and in MoroccoAlstom signed a major $2 billion contract In the U.S in 2016 with Amtrak (for the creation of a high-speed line between Washington and Boston via Philadelphia and New York).
Other high-speed line projects
In Europe, things are moving in the Czech Republic. asked by Radio Prague InternationalJiří Svoboda, director general of the Czech Republic’s Railway Administration, specifies the schedule desired by the government: “We expect the construction of the first sections to start in 2025. The first trains will transport passengers on the new lines around 2030.”
Five sections of high-speed lines are planned; Praha (Prague) Běchovice-Poříčany, Přerov-Ostrava-Svinov and Brno, Modřice-Vranovice, as well as two sections between Prague and Dresden in Germany. Expected commercial speed: 320 km/h.
But whether in the Czech Republic, in Canada, or elsewhere, Alstom must contend with increasingly aggressive competition. We can mention the German Siemens, the Spanish CAF, the Korean Hyundai, without forgetting the Chinese giant CRRC that reigns in the Middle Kingdom and that intends to get a piece of the European pie.
All these industrialists are fighting for bids and are ready to make big concessions to win the lots. In China, for example, Siemens won a big contract by agreeing to major technology transfers that Alstom refused.
Source: BFM TV
