France's Alstom lands contract for Indian metro link

Manufacturer says it had inked accord with Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation to provide 20 four-car Metropolis trains

PARIS: France's Alstom said on Monday it had won a 150-million-euro ($170 million) contract to provide metro trains and signalling for the northern Indian city of Lucknow.

The French manufacturer said it had inked an accord with Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) to provide 20 four-car Metropolis trains fitted with air conditioning for a 23-kilometre (14-mile) line comprising 22 stations.

"This is an important project for Lucknow's inhabitants and its visitors as they will soon be able to commute from the north to the south of the city on-board a metro that is safe, fast, reliable and environmentally friendly," said Dominique Pouliquen, Senior Vice-President for Alstom Transport Asia-Pacific.

The company said the metro cars for Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh, will be produced in its Sri City train manufacturing facility in India with the signalling system jointly supplied by Alstom's sites in Bangalore, India and Saint-Ouen, France.

Alstom's latest inroad into Indian rail infrastructure adds to the previous award of major metro projects in other cities including Chennai, Delhi and Kochi.

The firm's Metropolis train already operates in several major cities including Paris, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Amsterdam.