ALSTOM signs contract for line 3 of the Shanghai
metro

ALSTOM has been awarded a contract by the Shanghai Mass
Transit Pearl Line Development Co Ltd for the supply of 28
six-car trainsets worth some 203 million euros for line 3 of
the city's metro. The new line, which will link the south-east
to the north of the city, is scheduled to enter operation in
the year 2000.

The contract was signed on 11th May in Shanghai by ALSTOM's
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, M. Pierre Bilger and M.
Gao Guofu, Managing Director of the Shanghai Mass Transit Pearl
Line Development Co. Ltd. The French Ambassador, M. Pierre
Morel and official representatives of the Chinese Central
Government and of the Shanghai Municipality were also present
at the ceremony.

ALSTOM will supply its new Metropolis metro for line 3. Each
train, which will meet the highest standards of passenger
comfort, will be able to carry 356 seated passengers (and 2140
standing at maximum load) and run at speeds of 80 km/h.

The trains' light-weight aluminium cars will be equipped
with the latest generation of ALSTOM's ONIX drive propulsion
system based on IGBT technology, the ONIX 1500. The resulting
reductions in equipment weight, size and power consumption will
make the vehicles among the most advanced in the world.

A significant portion of work relating to the contract will
be carried out in China by several factories, including the
Shanghai ALSTOM Transport Electrical Equipment Company Ltd and
Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works.

The project benefits from a concessionary loan provided by
the French Government.

Pierre Bilger commented: 'We are delighted to have been
awarded the prestigious line 3 contract. With this contract,
ALSTOM has taken another significant step to strengthen its
transport partnerships in China, and is confident of further
successes in bidding for other mass transit projects in
China'.

ALSTOM is a world leader in energy and transport
infrastructure, employing 110,000 people in 60 countries
world-wide. The Company employs 4000 people in China and is one
of the country's main rail equipment suppliers, having
delivered over 1,100 metro cars to Hong Kong and nearly a third
of China's imported locomotives to date.

ALSTOM is currently in competition for the supply of metro
equipment to the cities of Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.