Multiple delays by Alstom in the delivery of 52 m metro trains, instead of the current 26, are forcing the European Metropolis of Lille (MEL) to adapt. It announced in a press release published on its website on Friday, June 28, 2024 that it had purchased “the equivalent of 71 to 87 26 m oars” to replace those that will soon be obsolete.
Most of the trains on line 2, which are due to cease operations between the end of 2025 and 2030, are particularly affected, reports France 3 Hauts-de-France The order was placed with Alstom and Siemens, already under contract with the metropolis, in order to avoid “consequent instruction and study times with very uncertain results”.
An acquisition process underway
With this new order, half of the 143 trains on the network will be changed. For the MEL, it is impossible to wait even if new trains are due to arrive soon. The metropolis is afraid to see the offer “not increased as expected but decreased”The new 52 m long trains have been expected since… 2016.
The metropolis has already started the process of acquiring the new trains. “The preliminary projects have been produced and the industrial consultation files are being finalized”she explains in her press release. Negotiations must be conducted in the fall before presenting a proposal to the Metropolitan Council in December 2024.
