£42m train order boosts Alstom

ENGINEERING group Alstom has won an order worth £42m to supply train company Porterbrook with new rolling stock.

Alstom, which has its parts and supply chain management site in Preston, will supply a fleet of 36 five-car suburban trains to run on South West Trains routes.

The contract is designed to improve capacity on London commuter routes and the new trains will enable around 8,000 extra peak-time passengers to travel into London’s Waterloo station every morning.

Known as Class 458/5, the contract will see the conversion of two existing Alstom-built fleets; the Class 458s, used by South West Trains and Class 460s, formerly used on the Gatwick Express route.

Up to 92% of the material content of the project will be sourced from the UK supply chain, with planned modifications including cabs, couplers, gangways and the conversion of baggage areas into passenger saloon areas.

Terence Watson, managing director of Alstom Transport in the UK and Ireland, said: “We look forward to bringing Alstom’s local expertise to the fore in this key project that shows how industry partners can work well together to provide innovative, value for money proposals to meet rolling stock requirements.”

The new vehicles will be brought into service in the spring of 2013, with the final train scheduled for delivery in spring 2014.