The Alstom-led Gibela consortium has broken ground on a new manufacturing site in South Africa which will build the majority of the country’s new X’Trapolis Mega trains.
The site, which is located in Dunnotar, will build and test 580 of the 600 new suburban trains being built for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) as part of a major fleet renewal.
Construction of the 60,000 square metre site is expected to take 18 months at which point the production line will move across from Brazil, where the first 20 six-car trains are being produced.
The €4 billion order includes 3,600 carriages to be delivered over the next decade. Two of the 20 trains being built by Alstom’s Lapa site in Brazil have already been delivered and a third train is scheduled to arrive later this month.
Alstom’s chief executive Henri Poupart-Lafarge said in a statement: “After successfully delivering the first two X’Trapolis Mega commuter trains on time, Alstom is pleased to have reached another key milestone for this significant project.”
“This new factory will be a catalyst for the revitalisation of the rail industry in South Africa through local manufacturing, high local supply level, employment creation and skills development. Alstom is proud to be involved in this new era of rail in the country.”
