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Re: France’s SNCF orders 83 Bombardier trains for $968-million
Author: Max Wyss
Date: 06-23-2017 - 23:36
As you state, the Alstom plan in trouble is Belfort, which makes (electric) locomotives.
With SNCF having completely let freight to fall apart, the domestic demand for locomotives has gone down, and in the international (European) market, their products (and their marketing) are not very competitive (compared to Siemens and Bombardier (Kassel/Oerlikon).
For D/EMUs, Alstom is doing pretty well, as they have a running contract for interregional DEMUs (replacing almost all loco hauled interregional trains, such as on the Paris Est - Mulhouse line). And there are other ongoing contracts for regional trains, as well as for the Ile de France. …and the light rail business does well too.
Bombardier Créspin made their point about 15 years ago with the AGV, a modular D/EMU concept replacing all the older autorails, which sold for more than 800 units; I have seen the Alstom proposal for that order, and there are worlds between them. I think that also saved Créspin when Bombardier was killing off several plants in Europe.
When it comes to orders for the Ile de France (in other words, the greater Paris area), there is now pretty much a balance between Alstom and Bombardier.
About politics… If you want to label M. Macron, he would be "social-liberal" in European terms. In USAn terms, he would be a damn commie. One thing he did excel so far, is that particularly in foreign politics, he always found the right tone, and he got that out to the public.
With SNCF having completely let freight to fall apart, the domestic demand for locomotives has gone down, and in the international (European) market, their products (and their marketing) are not very competitive (compared to Siemens and Bombardier (Kassel/Oerlikon).
For D/EMUs, Alstom is doing pretty well, as they have a running contract for interregional DEMUs (replacing almost all loco hauled interregional trains, such as on the Paris Est - Mulhouse line). And there are other ongoing contracts for regional trains, as well as for the Ile de France. …and the light rail business does well too.
Bombardier Créspin made their point about 15 years ago with the AGV, a modular D/EMU concept replacing all the older autorails, which sold for more than 800 units; I have seen the Alstom proposal for that order, and there are worlds between them. I think that also saved Créspin when Bombardier was killing off several plants in Europe.
When it comes to orders for the Ile de France (in other words, the greater Paris area), there is now pretty much a balance between Alstom and Bombardier.
About politics… If you want to label M. Macron, he would be "social-liberal" in European terms. In USAn terms, he would be a damn commie. One thing he did excel so far, is that particularly in foreign politics, he always found the right tone, and he got that out to the public.
