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Transport: Alstom is preparing to abandon the contract for the new RER B trains

2021-02-02T21:32:05.003Z


According to our information, the rail giant will announce refusing to honor the RER B renewal contract, arguing that it "


It is almost a given, Alstom should refuse to honor the contract for the renewal of RER B in Ile-de-France.

Asked this Tuesday evening, the railway company assures him: “This contract is not viable.

Also, barring a miracle, we'll make the decision not to perform it.

"

A real earthquake for RER B users and Ile-de-France taxpayers.

Indeed, this announcement means that the delivery of the first trains, normally scheduled for 2025, will be postponed for several years.

Above all, its price may explode.

As a reminder, this contract provides for the purchase of 146 new trains intended for line B of the RER, for 2.56 billion euros financed by the Ile-de-France Mobilités regional authority.

After several weeks of delay because of numerous legal appeals filed by Alstom, this mega contract had been awarded by RATP and SNCF to the CAF - Bombardier consortium.

The story should have ended there.

"Everyone is going to blame us for ten years"

Except that since last Friday, the Canadian Bombardier belongs to Alstom.

In other words, the French company has control of the RER B contract. "We did not have access to Bombardier's offer before Friday evening," Alstom assures us.

But now that we've seen her, we know they made an unreasonable offer.

And not just in terms of price ”.

To try to find a solution, Alstom had proposed a two or three week mediation with the RATP, the SNCF and the Ile-de-France region to determine if the offer of CAF and Bombardier was feasible.

Wasted effort !

This Tuesday afternoon, RATP and SNCF closed the door to any mediation.

In a joint press release, the two companies ask Alstom, "to respect the rules of public procurement, which do not allow renegotiating the firm offer submitted".

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The new RER B trains are long overdue, users are getting impatient


It must be said that Alstom wanted not only that CAF be excluded from the contract but above all that the offer proposed by the consortium be revised upwards.

Of how much ?

Between that proposed by Alstom and that of the CAF - Bombardier consortium, the difference is abysmal, between 500 and 600 million euros.

Now, barring a reversal, this decision opens the way to a legal battle between the parties and a new call for tenders.

“We are fully aware of the repercussions, admits Alstom.

Additional delays that this will generate for users, higher prices for taxpayers.

RATP, SNCF, Ile-de-France Mobilités, everyone is going to be angry with us for ten years.

This could even affect a possible next call for tenders.

But if we sign this contract, it will be hell for ten years, each time having to save money ”.

Source: leparis

All business articles on 2021-02-02

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