France, Romania: The Lille transport company MEL has taken the manufacturer to court over delays in the delivery of trains. It is demanding that Alstom be forced to fulfil its contractual obligations and pay compensation for the damage caused by the delays.
According to MEL, the fleet of 27 Metropolis trains ordered in 2012 will not enter service until 2026. In September this year, the tests of the automatic train operation system revealed 65 anomalies in its operation. Alstom claims that the system is stable, except for the automatic doors, and expects the trains to enter service in 2024. For the previous delays, it has already paid €53 mln.
Alstom Metropolis for Bucharest at the Taubate plant. Source: Paparazzi Ferroviario
At the same time, the manufacturer was fined €18 mln for failing to deliver 13 trains for the Bucharest metro. The first train was expected in June 2022, but it was still at Alstom’s Taubaté plant in September 2023.
