In the past 2 months, Alstom has received order for two Citadis projects in North America. These include order for 34 trams for Québec City in Canada and 130 trams for Philadelphia, in the USA. The contract for Québec city, with a total value of around €900 million (CA$1.34 billion), includes the design and supply of the rolling stock and maintenance for a period of 30 years. The contract also includes an option for a maximum of five trains, including maintenance.g.
Quebec City will benefit from a proven and reliable mobility solution developed and assembled in Quebec. The trams will be developed by Alstom engineers based in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville –Alstom’s headquarters in the Americas located on the south shore of Montreal– and will be assembled at its La Pocatière plant in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region. The trams will be adapted to the climatic and topographical conditions of Quebec City. Comfortable, modern and spacious, the trains will be 100% electric and will run on a 19-kilometre long line that will form the backbone of an improved public transit network for Quebec City. The tramway will offer an attractive transportation alternative to alleviate road congestion, reduce the impact of mobility on the environment and air quality, improve the quality of life for residents and further enhance the attractiveness of Quebec City. We reported here:
“We are very proud to have been chosen by the City of Quebec to supply and maintain the trams for this signature mobility project for the Capitale-Nationale region,” said Michael Keroullé, President of Alstom in the Americas. “We are honoured by the trust placed in us by the administration and elected representatives of Quebec City, and are committed to working in partnership with the City to offer a high quality and reliable product, a solution designed and assembled by our teams in Quebec, serving Quebec.”
New trolleys for Philadephia
Already in February, SEPTA, the public transport operator of Philadephia awarded a contract to Alstom Transportation Inc. for the purchase of modern, fully ADA-compliant trolley vehicles to replace the Authority’s entire aging fleet of trolleys. This order is part of SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization – a program to transform the nation’s largest trolley network into an accessible, fast, and easy-to-use system. The official contract has been signed on 1 June 2023. It comprises the delivery of 130 full low floor electric streetcars valued at over €667 million (approximately USD$ 718.2 million), with options to build an additional 30 streetcars
“Trolley Modernization poses economic benefits for both riders and the region at large,” said SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale T. Deon Sr. “This project will strengthen existing connections by improving transit services that link workers to jobs, students to schools, and diverse communities to each other – supporting local businesses and an affordable cost-of-living for everyone.”
Trolley Modernization is a core component of SEPTA Forward, the Authority’s Strategic Plan, to create a “lifestyle transit network” – a transit system that can be easily used for any type of trip, not just traditional 9-to-5 commutes to work.
Under the contract, SEPTA will receive 130 trolleys, with the option to order up to 30 additional vehicles. Delivery of the new trolleys is scheduled to begin in 2027 with full fleet delivery by the end of 2030.
The new trolleys will be longer and have higher capacity to move more passengers. The fleet will feature low floors and ramps; wider pathways; audio and visual messaging systems to communicate upcoming stops and service changes; and designated open space for wheelchairs, walkers, strollers, and bicycles.
“SEPTA is committed to ensuring our trolleys meet the needs of all riders – people with disabilities, seniors, families with small children, new users, and anyone who needs a little more help to get where they are going,” said SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie S. Richards. “SEPTA is still seeking over $800 million in competitive grants, and state and local funding, to make all the improvements necessary for seamless boarding. We are doing everything we can to move this project forward, but we need to secure new options for funding to leverage the once-in-a-generation infusion of federal dollars.”
Together, SEPTA’s eight trolley lines run for 68 miles and connect communities in West Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and Delaware County directly with the region’s two largest employment and healthcare centers, Center City and University City. The current trolley vehicles have served riders since the early 1980s.
SEPTA is building on-street stations to serve the new trolleys and rebuilding underground stations to be fully accessible. The Authority is also making significant operational and infrastructure improvements and extending some trolley lines to key locations to make connections to other SEPTA services easier. SEPTA is working on new and improved maintenance facilities to serve the new fleet.
Funding for Trolley Modernization comes from SEPTA’s Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Budget and 12-Year Program. In addition to Trolley Modernization, this Capital Program advances several other SEPTA Forward initiatives, such as Bus Revolution, King of Prussia Rail, station accessibility, and rail fleet replacements. These projects work together to promote and strengthen regional growth and connect people with opportunity.
Alstom’s market entry with American-built streetcars
The streetcars will be manufactured in the United States, at Alstom’s Hornell facility in upstate New York, which has years of proven experience and the established capabilities necessary to meet “Buy America” requirements. Alstom has invested extensively in the Hornell site over the past few years, including the construction of a stainless-steel car body shell manufacturing facility to localise car body shell production, which will provide greater quality control over the entire production process for SEPTA. Additionally, Alstom will manufacture the advanced propulsion system for the streetcars at its North American centre of excellence for advanced propulsion technology research and development and engineering in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
The order from Philadelphia also means Alstom’s entry into the US-tram market, which has been very much dominated by Siemens in recent years. While the predecessor company Bombardier Transportation had already delivered five-car Flexity low-floor vehicles to various cities in Canada, Alstom has sold a total of 133 Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles to two Canadian customers. All though the Citadis for Québec and Philadelphia is a new development, it will be based on the Citadis success story. To date, more than 3,000 Citadis trams have been sold to 70 cities in 20 countries around the world. While the Alstom Citadis Spirit trams delivered to Canada so far are vehicles with swivel-out bogies, the Citadis destined for Québec and Philadelphia are multi-articulated vehicles inspired by the European Citadis product platform, but also comply with regional norms, standards and regulations. In contrast to the classic Citadis 302 and 402 series, whose car bodies are made of aluminium, the car bodies of the new Citadis for North America are made of stainless steel.
08.06.2023
