Bombardier/GEC Alsthom Consortium wins Amtrak contract for high speed rail equipment
Nigel Allen
Here is a press release from Bombarider Transit Corporation.
I found the press release on the Canadian Corporate News web site
at http://www.cdn-news.com/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Bombardier Transit Corporation
Lisa Chajet
KCSA Public Relations
(212) 682-5860 or
(212) 682-6300
(212) 682-5767 (fax)
_________________________________________________________________
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: BOMBARDIER INC.
ME, TSE SYMBOL: BBD.A
MARCH 15, 1996
Amtrak Announces Final Selection of Bombardier/GEC Alsthom
Consortium for High Speed Rail Equipment Supply in
Northeast Corridor
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK--The Board of the United States National
Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK) today announced the
selection of the consortium formed by BOMBARDIER and GEC ALSTHOM as
the winning consortium for the high speed equipment that will
introduce high speed rail service on its Northeast Corridor (NEC)
route from Washington, D.C. to New York City to Boston.
The contract, valued at some $611 million, will call for the
BOMBARDIER/GEC ALSTHOM consortium to design and manufacture 18
trainsets, each consisting of two power cars and six coaches, and
15 electric locomotives to be used with other AMTRAK equipment in
the NEC fleet. It will also include the design, construction and
installation of three maintenance facilities for the rolling stock,
in Washington, D.C., New York and Boston. The contract should be
finalized within weeks. BOMBARDIER's share is estimated at $445
million.
Speaking on behalf of BOMBARDIER and GEC ALSTHOM, Mr. Peter Stangl,
President of Bombardier Transit Corporation, said: "This historic
decision represents a major breakthrough for high speed rail in the
United States, and will place us in a unique strategic position to
be the preferred suppliers for future projects in a market that
offers a vast and yet under-explored potential." "We are delighted
and honored that AMTRAK has selected our consortium for its
flagship high speed rail project," added Mr. Stangl, "and we look
forward to working in close cooperation with AMTRAK to provide its
customers with the ride quality, speed and comfort associated with
state-of-the-art high speed rail equipment."
The BOMBARDIER/GEC ALSTHOM consortium was competing against two
other leading transportation equipment manufacturers which had also
been invited to submit proposals for AMTRAK's Northeast Corridor
High Speed Rail Improvement Project. To meet AMTRAK's requirements
of speeds up to 150 miles per hour, the consortium has proposed a
custom-designed train that combines technology derived from GEC
ALSTHOM's TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) high speed train with
BOMBARDIER's tilt technology and expertise in stainless steel
carbody manufacturing.
Production of the high speed trainsets is scheduled to begin in
Fall 1997. The consortium partners will share the power car and
electric locomotive design. In addition to being responsible for
the complete design of the coaches, BOMBARDIER will manufacture the
locomotives, power cars and coaches and will undertake the
integration of the trainsets. A substantial part of the work will
take place in the northeastern United States, at BOMBARDIER's
Plattsburgh, New York, and Barre, Vermont plants, representing 300
job-years at each plant for the duration of the contract. GEC
ALSTHOM will be responsible for the design and manufacture of the
undercarriage frames, all traction-related equipment and auxiliary
electrical systems at its facilities in France and its suppliers'
facilities in the United States.
Amtrak anticipates service operation in the NEC to begin in late
1999. Prior to the introduction, the trains will have undergone
extensive dynamic testing in the United States.
BOMBARDIER has a long-standing working relationship with AMTRAK.
BOMBARDIER-built equipment supplied to AMTRAK includes 104 Horizon
coaches, ordered in 1989 and currently in use in the mid-west and
California, as well as 195 bi-level Superliner II railcars, now
being delivered for service on AMTRAK's long-distance lines.
In addition to AMTRAK's flagship project, BOMBARDIER and GEC
ALSTHOM are involved in a high speed rail projet in Florida, as
members of the Florida Overland Express (FOX) consortium which was
recently selected to enter negotiations with the State authorities
for a franchise to develop a high speed rail system, using the TGV
high speed train, to link Miami to Orlando to Tampa.
BOMBARDIER is a Canadian corporation engaged in design,
development, manufacturing and marketing activities in the fields
of transportation equipment, civil and military aerospace, and
motorized consumer products. Its products are sold on five
continents with high concentration in North America and Europe.
The Montreal-based corporation operates plants in Canada, the
United States, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany
and the United Kingdom, employing 40,000 people. BOMBARDIER's
business volume now totals Cdn $7.1 billion (US$5.2 billion), and
nearly 90 per cent of the Corporation's revenues are made in
markets outside Canada.
GEC ALSTHOM, a subsidiary of Alcatel Alsthom, France and GEC, U.K.,
is an international group primarily active in the energy and
transport sectors. It has nearly 80,000 employees and a turnover
of 57 billion French francs (US$11.5 billion). Its rail activities
represent 17,000 employees and a turnover of 15 billion French
francs (US$3 billion). The group is the world's most experienced
designer and manufacturer of high speed trains, including power
cars, coaches, propulsion equipment, trucks (undercarriages) and
suspension. GEC ALSTHOM's TGV high speed train has demonstrated
its superiority for more than a decade, generating orders for over
570 trainsets from six countries in Europe and Asia.
BOMBARDIER and GEC ALSTHOM have been working together these past
few years under a long-term cooperation agreement for the
development and marketing of TGV technology in North America.
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Nigel Allen nda...@io.org http://www.io.org/~ndallen/