January 3 (SeeNews) - French multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom said on Monday that it was awarded a 500 million euro ($566 million) contract by Bucharest underground system operator Metrorex to provide full maintenance services for the Bucharest metro fleet until 2036.
The services cover preventive and corrective maintenance, as well as overhauls for a total fleet of 82 trains, Alstom said in a press release.
Following the delivery of the new trains for Metro Line 5 as a result of a tender awarded last year, the fleet will be supplemented with at least 13 new Alstom Metropolis trains starting 2023, and the maintenance contract will be extended to this additional fleet.
In December 2020, Alstom signed a 100 million euro contract for 13 metro trains, with the option of another 17.
Alstom has been providing maintenance services for the Metrorex rolling stock since 2004, overhauling both the new and the old fleets.
The 82 trains totalling 492 cars have run on average a total distance of 8.5 million km on an annual basis. Over 350 people are engaged in the maintenance activities, according to Alstom.
Alstom has been active in Romania for almost 30 years and is responsible for implementing signalling or electrification solutions on more than 75% of the northern branch of the Rhine-Danube railway corridor in the country. The French company is implementing a train control urban signalling solution on the Bucharest metro.
($=0.883 euro)