Alstom-Bombardier led consortium to supply Tren Maya railway project

9 June 2021 – The consortium made up of Alstom Transport Mexico, Bombardier Transportation México, Gami Ingeniería e Instalaciones and Construcciones Urales Procesos Industriales, will supply Mexico’s Tren Maya, a large-scale intercity railway project that is set to transform sustainable mobility in the country. The total value of the contract comes to approximately €1.3 billion (over Mex$31 billion). The portion for Alstom-Bombardier amounts to nearly €1 billion.

The winning bid was announced on May 26^th by the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (Fonatur), after its technical committee endorsed the consortium’s operational, technical, and economic proposals. The factors that determined Fonatur's decision to select the winning consortium were cost, degree of national integration, delivery times and design proposals.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected to supply the Tren Maya – a train for Mexico, built in Mexico – as well as its full signalling system. The design of the three types of trains - Xiinbal, Janal and P'atal - is exclusive to Mexico and inspired by the Mayan culture, where the majestic jaguar’s lines, speed and beauty were inspirational elements for the train. The manufacturing of the Tren Maya will begin immediately, with Mexican labour, after the signing of the contract,” said Maite Ramos, General Director of Alstom México.

The consortium led by Alstom-Bombardier will be responsible for the design, manufacture and commissioning of 42 X’trapolis trains, as well as the full signalling system including the design, supply and installation of the ETCS[1] onboard technology and over 1,500 km of trackside equipment including ETCS, interlocking, traffic management and telecommunications systems, leveraging the complete Alstom portfolio. Moreover, the consortium is responsible for the construction of the maintenance workshops and garages and the after-sales service of the system’s equipment.

Alstom’s new X’trapolis model for Tren Maya will leverage the group’s manufacturing and engineering potential to produce a train that is up-to-date, competitive and reliable in the long term, based on trains which have already proven their merits. The X’trapolis train is a robust platform with a modular interior - all configurations are possible from the same lightweight bodyshell. 5500 X’trapolis cars have been ordered so far in the world. This train will also use components and expertise contributed by the former Bombardier, the most outstanding being its lightweight Flexx Eco bogie, designed for a maximum speed of 176 km/h. More than 8,300 units of the same bogie model have been ordered or delivered to date in countries including Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and most notably in the United Kingdom.

The consortium will offer the X’trapolis in three distinct configurations: the first in a flexible and comfortable standard service set-up (Xiinbal); the second prioritising restaurant cars (Janal); and the last in long-distance sleeper configuration (P’atal). All versions offer passengers ample legroom at their seats and plenty of space to move around. Passengers will have more than enough room to store their luggage, with overhead racks borrowed from Alstom’s intercity train Coradia, and vertical racks in each car. Since the floor is flat throughout, passengers with reduced mobility will have full liberty of movement. In the X’trapolis, passengers will benefit from high-performance HVAC and wide windows onto the breath-taking scenery of the Maya region.

Alstom is a major supplier of onboard and trackside ETCS equipment, representing 70% of the world’s onboard rail systems in service and 18,000 kilometres of track worldwide and bringing significant advantages in terms of maintenance cost savings, safety, reliability, punctuality and traffic capacity.

Tren Maya is a comprehensive 1,525-kilometre mobility project that aims to develop and connect the southeast of the country with the Yucatán Peninsula, and will be a great boost to mobility and economic growth in this region of Mexico. Overall, the project will generate 4,500 direct and 7,500 indirect jobs, which will generate significant economic development for the community. Alstom will manufacture the 42 trains at its Ciudad Sahagún Hidalgo plant.

Alstom is a trademark of the ALSTOM Group

Alstom™ and X’trapolis™ are protected trademarks of the Alstom Group

[1] European Train Control System