ALSTOM wins 235 million euro order from SNCF for TGV
Duplex trainsets

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The SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer),
France's national railway, has confirmed a new order worth 310
million euros for
TGV
Duplex trainsets.

The order is part of a master agreement signed in October 2000
with ALSTOM as the mandatary. The agreement calls for 82 TGV
Duplex trainsets, to be supplied by a partnership of ALSTOM and
Bombardier.

The current order calls for seven complete dual-voltage
trainsets and 15 sets of eight trailers. ALSTOM's share of the
order is 235 million euros.

André Guyvarc'h, president of ALSTOM Transport France,
said: “We are delighted that the SNCF has confirmed its
confidence in ALSTOM with this follow-on order, and that ALSTOM
will be able to continue to contribute to the success of the TGV
in France and in Europe.”

Mireille Faugère, director of the Voyages France Europe
division of the SNCF, said: “This new order for TGV Duplex
trains will enable us to increase our offer considerably on
several rail links towards the southwest of France and to
reinforce the success of the TGV, which has carried over one
billion passengers since 1981.”

ALSTOM’s French facilities in Aytré (near La
Rochelle), Belfort, Le Creusot, Ornans, Tarbes, Reischoffen and
Villeurbanne, as well as Charleroi, Belgium, will be involved in
the realization of the project.

Notes for editors:
This order offers an example of the advantage offered by
the modular concept: The 15 sets of trailers in the order will be
coupled with 30 power cars formerly used in TGV Réseau
trainsets.

In January last year,
the
SNCF ordered 30 power cars for the future TGV Est line, also
known as POS (Paris-Ostfrankreich-Süddeutschland) since it
will offer service from Paris through eastern France and
southwestern Germany. The power cars in the January 2003 order
will be coupled with cars from existing TGV Réseau trainsets
to form the TGV Est trains. Thus the power cars from those TGV
Réseau trainsets become available to be integrated with the
15 trailer sections in the current order.

With this new order, the SNCF will have a fleet of 104 TGV
Duplex trainsets. They each have 516 seats available in both
first and second class. The first ones went into service at the
end of 1996, and today they provide frequent links between Paris
and Lyon, the Mediterranean coast and the Alps. As more trainsets
are delivered, they will be progressively put into service on
other routes.

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 mecanical 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
€5.1 billion in financial year 2002-2003, 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