CAF has confirmed orders worth €161m from the French region of Nouvelle- Aquitaine and from Senegal for Coradia Polyvalent regional trains, the first since the Spanish firm acquired the train platform, its backlog of orders and the associated manufacturing plant at Reichshoffen in France from Alstom.

The French region has acquired 11 four-car trains and Senegal’s Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Major Works (Apix) has ordered seven four-car trains. Construction will be carried out in consortium with Alstom, which will supply equipment for the trains with CAF performing design and assembly.

Alstom provided 15 160km/h bi-mode diesel and 25kV ac electric multiple units for the 57km Dakar RER line in Senegal, while the manufacturer supplied more than 300 Coradia Polyvalent trains to the French regions.

CAF says the orders, both of which are options under existing contracts, are the first in a series of upcoming Coradia Polyvalent projects.

The company adds that the deals have increased its order backlog in France to €2.4bn, an all-time high, which is equivalent to 18% of the group’s total backlog.

Among the orders for Coradia Polyvalent trains in France are 146 trains for Paris RER Line B, and 28 inter-city trains for French National Railways (SNCF) to operate on the Paris - Clermont-Ferrand and Paris - Limoges - Toulouse lines. CAF is also supplying LRVs to Montpellier and Marseille.

CAF agreed to purchase the Coradia Polyvalent platform and the production site in Reichshoffen as well as the Talent 3 platform and associated manufacturing facilities in Heningsdorf, Germany, in 2021. The deal was confirmed last year. Alstom was required to undertake the divestment as a condition of its deal to acquire Bombardier Transportation.

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