Alstom, through its local South African joint venture company Gibela, has reached a major milestone by starting the construction of its new manufacturing site to build 580 suburban trains[1] for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The completion of the 60,000m2 site, which will be built in phases, is expected to take 18 months. It will deliver 3,480 coaches over the next 10 years, with the very first South African-manufactured train to be completed by the end of 2017.
Around 1,500 people will be employed at the manufacturing, assembly and testing facilities. The site will include an academic training centre, large workshops, office buildings, as well as a test track and test facility required for the new trains.
(Continued on the next page)