Alstom has been selected as the preferred bidder to supply 17 bi-mode intercity trains to Algeria’s state-owned rail operator, SNTF.
With passenger numbers expected to rise from 30 million to 80 million a year by 2015, the order is part of a wider investment strategy being pursued by SNTF to improve its infrastructure and rolling stock fleet.
Yacine Benbjaballah, chief executive of SNTF, confirmed Alstom as the front runner in an interview with Algerian news website Tout sur Algérie.
The new long-distance trains will be based on the Coradia Polyvalent platform.
Alstom said it hopes to finalise the contract with SNTF by the end of the year.
