Alstom and the SNTF Celebrate the Commercial Entry into Service of Coradia Polyvalent for Algeria

Mr. Abdelghani Zalene, Algeria’s Minister of Public Works and Transport, today celebrated the commercial entry into service of the first Coradia Polyvalent train for Algeria, as well as the opening of a mainline station that will be used by the new trains. The event was attended by Yacine Bendjaballah, Managing Director of the SNTF and Didier Pfleger, Senior Vice President Middle East & Africa at Alstom.

Algeria’s SNTF (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires d’Algérie) awarded a contract to Alstom on 29 July 2015 for the delivery of 17 Coradia Polyvalent trains. After the successful completion of static tests at Alstom’s site in Reichshoffen and dynamic tests at the Vélim railway test centre in the Czech Republic on 28 January 2018, the first train was received at the port of Algiers in the presence of Mr. Salim Djala, the representative of the Minister of Public Works and Transport and Mr. Bendjaballah, Managing Director of the SNTF. The train then successfully underwent a new series of static and dynamic tests on the SNTF rail network in preparation for the commercial entry into service of the line.

Deliveries of the following trains will be made over the course of the year 2018. These trains will serve Algeria’s major cities and are designed and manufactured at the Alstom site in Reichshoffen, France.

“The first Coradia Polyvalent train for Algeria enters commercial service today. This is, for us, a confirmation of the trust of our customer and of our partners in Algeria. Our ambition is to perpetuate this partnership and contribute to the development of the railway sector in Algeria,” says Didier Pfleger.

The train is Alstom’s first Coradia in Africa. Several innovations have been made to Coradia Polyvalent for Algeria, placing the passenger at the heart of its design. The train provides optimal brightness and is adapted to the country’s climatic conditions (sand, high temperatures) and equipped with a very efficient air conditioning system. Coradia Polyvalent’s fully low floor facilitates access and circulation on board the train. It also comprises tried and tested equipment and powerful motorisation resulting from established, reliable technology that guarantees the availability of the trains.

Alstom’s Coradia range of trains benefits from 30 years of experience, with more than 4 billion kilometres covered by 3,000 trains.