(Saint-Ouen) While its contract to build the carriages for the Quebec tramway is compromised, the boss of Alstom, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, says he has “full confidence in the authorities to carry out the project”.
As part of his mission to France, Prime Minister François Legault went on Wednesday to the head office of the French giant located in Saint-Ouen, a suburb of Paris, to meet Mr. Poupart-Lafarge.
Alstom bought Bombardier’s rail division in 2020; its largest shareholder is the Caisse de dépôt et placement.
“It hurt me a lot when Bombardier Transportation was sold to Alstom. I had big ambitions for Bombardier Transportation,” admitted Mr. Legault upon his arrival on site. He says he is satisfied that Alstom’s Americas headquarters is located in Quebec in accordance with the commitment made by the French company, especially since there are no “big players in the United States” in this sector and that “many projects” are anticipated in major American cities.
“Transport, tramway, train, it’s a sector that is in strong development. […] We want to look to develop the company together,” declared Mr. Legault alongside the boss of Alstom.
“It is a great honor and a great pleasure to have the Prime Minister of Quebec here with us and underlines the importance of our Quebec roots and underlines the importance of our activity in Quebec […]. We are going to speak with the Prime Minister, indeed, about the development of activities in Quebec,” said Mr. Poupart-Lafarge.
Alstom won the contract to build the wagons for the Quebec tramway, worth 569 million, and signed it with the City in 2023. It was the only bidder following the withdrawal of the German Siemens. Production is intended for the La Pocatière factory.
However, since then, CDPQ Infra, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt, has reviewed the project at the request of the government and the latter decided in favor of phase 1 in June. Among the modifications to the City of Quebec project, the trains are shorter and the cars have hybrid power (by wire and battery) rather than only by wire as was provided for in the contract. Remember that Alstom’s competitor, the German Siemens, was campaigning for hybrid technology.
On Tuesday, François Legault declared that it is “not clear” whether or not to return to a call for tenders in order to respect the international rules of the game. He reiterated the message to Mr. Poupart-Lafarge when journalists questioned the two men on the subject on Wednesday. “Currently, our lawyers are watching. There is no clear answer. I suppose that he (Mr. Poupart-Farge) wants the call for tenders not to be renewed and that the old one exists. »
“We are very happy and very honored to have been chosen by the City of Quebec for this tramway. We have every confidence in the authorities to carry out the project,” replied the general director and administrator of Alstom.
In Quebec, Alstom has 2,135 jobs spread across three cities: 1,015 in Saint-Bruno, 615 in Montreal and 505 in La Pocatière.
Since this French company bought Bombardier in 2020, its stock has lost around half its value.
Alstom is part of one of the consortiums to carry out the federal high frequency train (TGF) project between Toronto and Quebec. This consortium, called the Group of Partners for the Mobility of Montrealers, is also made up of SNC-Lavalin and participated in the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project.