Alstom offers world’s fastest train to China

Alstom has offered China the world’s fastest train as it competes for a slice of the US$732 billion Beijing has earmarked for railway investment by 2020, Bloomberg reported. Philippe Mellier, president of Alstom’s transport sector, said the 360 kilometers-per-hour Automotrice Grande Vitesse (AGV) is being included in bids for Chinese contracts, even though the train is still in development. Mellier described Chinese demand for trains as “never ending.” He said that the company, which has supplied CRH5 high-speed trains in China since 2007 through its joint venture with Changchun Railway Vehicles, is looking in particular at secondary cities adding new rail lines. China plans to extend its rail network to 120,000 kilometers by 2020, including 18,000 kilometers of high-speed lines. Alstom’s competitors include Bombardier, which won a US$4 billion contract in September for 80 high-speed trains, and Siemens, which in March received a US$1 billion order for 100 trains. The bulk of contracts go to local suppliers.