Alstom to equip the British High Speed ​​2 train line

The British High Speed ​​2 train line will be equipped by the French group Alstom. A contract of two billion 300 million euros that Alstom will share with the Japanese Hitachi. The aim is to deliver to Great Britain 54 high-speed trains capable of reaching 360 km / h at peak times, presented as the fastest in Europe, like the TGVs in France. The contract includes the manufacture of trainsets and maintenance across the Channel for twelve years.

This is the High Speed ​​2 project. Launched ten years ago by the British government, it plans to serve the North of England and the Midlands by TGV in several phases. The first by connecting London to Birmingham by 2026; the second connecting Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds by 2033.

We’re going to have to build these trains with Hitachi. A new Alstom production line will be installed in Derby (between Birmingham and Sheffield) a new manufacturing unit for bogies (axles) will also see the light of day. Alstom assures us that all of this will create and sustain thousands of “green” jobs.

It is a big victory for Alstom linked to Hitachi. The joint venture allows traditional competitors to be sidelined on the international scene: the manufacturer of trainsets for the Eurostar train, the German Siemens, and the Spanish CAF and Talgo. And then this vast High Speed ​​Two project between London and Birmingham is an opportunity for other French groups to show their know-how. They are already hard at work: Bouygues, Eiffage and Vinci. A construction site which today employs 16,000 people will probably see others arriving to speed up the pace. Phase one of UK infrastructure is to be inaugurated before 2030.