French train builder Alstom is planning a significant expansion in France. The company plans to invest 150 million euros and recruit at least 1,000 people this year. The investments and hiring are coming to meet the increased demand for high-speed trains.
The plan is to start a new production line at Alstom’s Valenciennes plant. At the La Rochelle plant, which makes Avelia trains, the high-speed trains the French railroad company SNCF plans to put into service from 2026, the number of metalworkers will, in turn, be doubled.
Triple production capacity
SNCF has ordered 115 Avelia trainsets, HSTs capable of reaching 350 km/hour. The model is catching on in the market. Orders have already been received from the US, Morocco, and Proxima, the new private operator that wants to compete with SNCF from 2028.
“The objective is to triple production capacity,” says top executive Henri Poupart-Lafarge. Currently, Alstom produces about one Avelaa train per month; for two years, it should average 2.5 per month. Alstom also has operations in Belgium, a factory in Bruges, and two knowledge centers in Charleroi.
In 2023, the company faced financial difficulties and had to launch a debt reduction plan. The signaling activities in North America were divested, 1,500 administrative positions were eliminated, and a capital increase occurred.
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