The Alstom-Bombardier consortium is to supply 210 double-deck commuter train cars for the Greater Paris network in an order worth approximately one billion euros.
The new order, which will run on line A of the RER, is an option under a contract signed in April 2009 for 60 MI09 trains.
As a consortium member responsible for one third of the order, Bombardier’s share will amount to approximately 336 million euros ($417 million US).
The new cars will be delivered between 2014 and the end of 2016.
Jean Berge, president of Bombardier Transport France, said: “Congestion is a challenge for all major cities around the world, including Paris.
“We are pleased to offer sustainable transport solutions for the future such as the MI09 trains, which we have developed together with Alstom and the RATP.
“The 200 Bombardier employees who are working on the project are highly motivated to deliver high quality rail cars on time.”
Two thirds of the project is financed by the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) with the remaining funding provided by the Ile-de-France Transport Authority (STIF).
Bombardier will design and fully assemble the cars at its manufacturing site in Crespin.
Bombardier’s site in northern France employs about 2,000 people, including 500 engineers and technicians.
The consortium has designed the trains based on its MI2N trains, which it delivered for the same line between 1990 and 2000. The inauguration of the first MI09 trains on the line took place in December 2011.
The new MI09 trainsets are equipped with a more efficient traction system to reduce energy consumption and generate less brake dust because of an increased use of electric braking.
