ALGERIA: Alstom Transport announced the signing of a €200m contract to supply national railway SNTF with 17 Coradia Polyvalent electro-diesel multiple units on July 29. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in January 2018.
The units are to be deployed on inter-city services linking Alger with destinations including Oran, Annaba, Constantine and Béchar.
The units will have six 350 kW diesel engines to enable through running from 25 kV AC electrified routes onto unelectrified lines, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h in either mode.
The six-car units will be 110 m long, with a capacity of 265 passengers, low floors and compliance with PRM TSI accessibility standards.
They will be similar to the Coradia Polyvalent units operated by France’s SNCF under the Régiolis name, but adapted for local conditions with protection against sand and a ‘highly efficient’ air-conditioning system.
The units are to be assembled at Alstom’s Reichshoffen plant in France, with Saint-Ouen undertaking design work, Le Creusot supplying the bogies, Ornans the traction motors and alternators, Tarbes the drive system and Villeurbanne the on-board electronics and passenger information system.
‘Already adopted by SNCF and the French regions since 2009, Coradia Polyvalent is the ideal choice to meet Algeria's transport needs’, said Gian-Luca Erbacci, Senior Vice-President of Alstom Transport in the Middle East & Africa. ‘Algerian passengers can be sure that they are travelling on trains with the latest technical innovations, combining comfort, performance and protection of the environment.
