KAZAKHSTAN: National railway KTZ has awarded the KazElectroPrivod joint venture of Alstom and local partner Kamkor a €90m contract to supply 10 000 point machines over the next 10 years. Alstom's share of the contract is worth €65m.
The equally-owned point machine production joint venture was formed in January by Alstom and KTZ's rolling stock maintenance subsidiary Kamkor. It is based at Kamkor's Almaty Wagon Repair Plant.
The first machines are to be imported from Alstom's plant at Bologna in Italy while the Almaty workshop is rebuilt, and then production will be gradually localised.
Two Alstom P80 machines have been in service in Astana for the last two years. Their mechanism is protected from ice and snow and does not require heating, making them well suited for severe weather conditions.
'With this first signalling project for Alstom in Kazakhstan, we are gaining a foothold in the promising Kazakhstan signalling market, and to a larger extent, in the neighbouring markets as well', said Bernard Gonnet, Senior Vice-President of Alstom Transport in the CIS.
