Tony Blair congratulates ALSTOM on Pendolino launch

Over 250 people attended the event at London's Euston Station
including the Lord Mayor  of London, leading figures from
the UK railway industry, the Department for Transport and the
national and trade media.

Virgin Chairman, Sir Richard Branson, congratulated ALSTOM on
the delivery of the Pendolino fleet, as did Virgin Trains' CEO,
Chris Green, and Tony Blair himself.

Tony Blair was reported as saying:
'This is a great day for railways in Britain. Passengers on
the West Coast routes will now benefit from the first phase of
the investment. For the first time in many years along with the
Channel Tunnel rail link, we have actually got new investment
yielding a result for the rail network in this country and that
is a tremendous achievement. If we can get the right technology
and investment in, we can actually shorten the journey times
between our major cities and bring the country with a greater
sense of mobility together'.

ALSTOM was represented at the event by Gerard Blanc, Terence
Watson, Peter Doolin and others associated with the
Pendolino project.

Highlight of the event was the special non-stop,
record-breaking run by the newly-named City of London Pendolino
from Euston to Manchester which it achieved in 1 hour 54 minutes
- breaking the 2 hour barrier for the first time.

For the launch of Virgin Trains WCML winter timetable,
as of 27th September; there will be 36 Pendolinos  operating
Virgins WCML services.  Between London and Manchester
the fastest timetabled journey time will be 2 hours 06
minutes.

The Pendolino fleet will be phased in to run all
Virgins WCML services over the coming months, ramping up
to 42 Pendolinos in daily service by December 04 and by June
2005, 45 Pendolinos will be in daily use. The Pendolino fleet
will be maintained at ALSTOM Transport traincare centres in
Glasgow, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London.

With more than 35 product lines and a presence in more than
60 countries, ALSTOM's Transport sector offers complete
products and services for new rolling stock, signaling, and
electrical and mechanical infrastructure as well as maintenance
and rehabilitation services to four distinct types of
customers: urban transit authorities and operators; intercity
passenger rail operators and rolling stock owners; rail freight
operators; and intercity railway infrastructure owners.
ALSTOM's Transport sector, with sales of 4.9 billion euros in
financial year 2003-2004, is among the world's leading
suppliers to the railway industry.

Press information:
Helen Connolly

Tel. +33 (0)1 41 66 91 43

helen.connolly@transport.alstom.com

Susanne Trabitzsch

Tel: + 33 (0)1 41 66 97 16

susanne.trabitzsch@transport.alstom.com

• Visit the Virgin Trains website