Alstom and Fundación ONCE renew their collaboration to continue building a more accessible and inclusive mobility

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  • The renewed collaboration will bolster the commitment of both Alstom and Fundación ONCE to advocate for the social inclusion of people with disabilities

  • Fundación ONCE has become a worldwide strategic advisor in terms of inclusiveness

  • Strategic partnership involving joint efforts in research, development, and innovation

4 December 2023 - Alstom, global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, and Fundación ONCE have renewed the collaboration framework agreement they initiated back in 2019. Therefore, we are reinforcing our dedication to fostering the social inclusion of individuals with disabilities in rail mobility.. Over the past few years, both organisations have worked together on creating more accessible and inclusive projects, such as the new Barcelona Metro and the upcoming High-Capacity commuter trains for Renfe. Furthermore, Fundación ONCE has taken on the role of a key strategic advisor to Alstom globally for the enhancement of urban mobility solutions.

The agreement extension was signed by José Luis Martínez Donoso, General Director of Fundación ONCE and Leopoldo Maestu, Managing Director, Alstom Spain and Portugal.

Leopoldo Maestu, presidente Alstom España

”Through this agreement, we're delving deeper into our joint efforts, which manifest in the enhancements passengers witness in the new trains we're producing and delivering. Moreover, we're expanding our collaboration to encompass new initiatives, such as the reinforcement of corporate volunteering, aimed at involving our employees in social action activities.”

Leopoldo Maestu
Managing Director, Alstom Spain and Portugal

This extension ensures the ongoing progress of mobility projects, aiming to enhance usability and comfort for individuals with disabilities, elderly adults, and the advancement of smart mobility solutions. Alstom and Fundación ONCE's strategic partnership involves joint efforts in research, development, and innovation, aiming to tailor all railway solutions to meet passengers' accessibility requirements.

"In Alstom, we have found a partner that is firmly committed and convinced of the need to develop inclusive and adapted mobility solutions for all types of passengers. We are united by a shared objective and the constant search for innovative solutions in terms of accessibility and universal design", said the general director of Fundación ONCE, José Luis Martínez Donoso.

”Through this agreement, we're delving deeper into our joint efforts, which manifest in the enhancements passengers witness in the new trains we're producing and delivering. Moreover, we're expanding our collaboration to encompass new initiatives, such as the reinforcement of corporate volunteering, aimed at involving our employees in social action activities.” says Leopoldo Maestu, Managing Director, Alstom Spain and Portugal.

As part of this collaboration agreement, Alstom has initiated a partnership with Inserta Empleo, an organisation focused on specialised training, employment, and consultancy programs aimed at facilitating the labour market integration of individuals with disabilities.

Along industrial and technological local commitment, Alstom is a key player in the mobility sector in Spain, with more than 3,200 employees, 4 industrial centres, 4 technology centres, and more than 20 depots. Among others, Alstom has an engineering and industrial site in Barcelona dedicated to manufacturing all types of trains, a propulsion-systems factory in the Basque Country, and, in Madrid, different technological innovation centres for developing projects related to railway safety, signalling, maintenance, and digital mobility.

Fundación ONCE is an instrument of cooperation and solidarity of ONCE created in 1988 to improve the living conditions of groups with disabilities, through labour inclusion and training programs, as well as the dissemination of the concept of universal accessibility, with the creation of globally accessible environments, products and services.