Maryland Selects Alstom for Baltimore Light Rail Overhaul

Regulatory News :

Alstom (Paris:ALO) has been awarded a $150 million contract by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to overhaul Baltimore’s entire fleet of 53 light rail vehicles (LRV). Baltimore LRVs are scheduled to arrive, beginning in October 2013, at Alstom’s Hornell, New York facility where the refurbishment will be executed. The project will add about 15 years to the lifespan of the trains.

This overhaul is one of several projects the state of Maryland is implementing as part of an ambitious program to improve the safety, reliability, and service of its transportation systems. The first Baltimore LRVs were manufactured some 25 years ago, and the fleet carries nearly 28,000 riders a day between downtown Baltimore, northern suburbs and BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport.

The first major step in the modernization process involves dynamic testing on a few trains to base line their current performance. The results of these tests are used to document improved performance of the vehicles after renovation. The next step after testing is to remove all interior and exterior components from each car and address any necessary car body repairs. Alstom will then re-equip each train with new propulsion systems, on-board automatic train control technology, closed circuit TVs (CCTV), climate control units and new doors, seating and carpets. To minimize impacts on MTA riders, a maximum of five trains at a time will be removed from service. The overhaul program will last approximately four years, with the last overhauled vehicle returning to Baltimore in May 2018.

"We are delighted that MTA has entrusted Alstom with the renovation of Baltimore's light-rail fleet. Our team is dedicated to the success of this project and to providing an enjoyable journey for riders who depend on these vehicles” said Guillaume Mehlman, President of Alstom Transport North America. "We also are very excited and eager to support the innovative approaches Maryland is pursuing to expand light-rail transit in the state.”

This is the fourth major U.S. fleet renovation project awarded to Alstom in the past two years. Together with the overhaul of a metro fleet for Philadelphia’s PATCO, and light-rail and commuter fleets for Boston’s MBTA, the company has booked more than half-a-billion dollars in modernization projects. Alstom’s maintenance business in North America (Transport Life Services) will lead the MTA LRV modernization project.

About Alstom
Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure, setting the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, and it offers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The Group employs 93,000 people in around 100 countries. It had sales of over €20 billion and booked close to €24 billion in orders in 2012/13.