23 February 2010
2009 brought a steady stream of successes for Thales in the ground transportation sector, with no fewer than 20 major contract wins.
Contract wins in Europe and in the Middle East, as well as in the high-growth markets such as Africa, have further strengthened Thales’s international dimension in this sector. Contactless technologies, automated train command and control systems and interoperable solutions, are all gaining ground world-wide. Thales has been well positioned to take advantage of this trend thanks to the Group’s extensive experience in mission critical system deployment and management.
Solutions for efficient urban transport
Thales provides urban rail operators with safe and efficient signalling systems allowing them to offer passengers best in class services while optimising operational efficiency.
Thales's supervision and communication systems provide operators a single and integrated view to monitor and control applications from traffic to power management including passenger information and security management. In addition, Thales designs and provides a wide range of ticketing solutions from line equipment to the deployment of integrated multi-modal and multi-operator systems based on contactless technologies that are suited for the metro and bus networks.
In Europe, Thales was awarded contracts with various operators to improve metros, including signalling solutions in Porto and Berlin, a ticketing maintenance contract in Oslo and a supervision solution in Bilbao.
In Mecca, the company was awarded a contract with China Railway Construction Corp. (CRCC) worth €103 million, to supply, integrate and deploy its automated train command and control, supervision and telecommunication systems.
In Turkey, Thales engaged in a €36 million project to supply Istanbul’s Metro with signalling and Integrated Communication and Supervision systems (IC2S) for 16 stations and one of its Operation Control Centres (OCC).
In 2009, Thales was also awarded two contracts in Cairo to supply a contactless ticketing system as well as an integrated communication & supervision solution for phase two of the Cairo Metro Line 3. The two contracts combined are worth €16 million.
In Asia, a consortium involving Thales and Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell was selected by the municipalities of Wuhan and Guangzhou to provide turnkey signalling solutions for their metro projects.
In Australia, Thales was awarded a contract to provide Sydney Ferries with a new Ferry Operations and Communications Information System (FOCIS), which will allow passengers access to real-time ferry service information, on the wharf, on vessels, over the internet, on mobile phones and PDAs by mid-2010.
Finally, in New Zealand, Thales won the “Super Ticket” multi-modal ticketing contract for Auckland, which will allow public transport users to travel around their towns and cities by bus, train and ferry using a single contactless smart card.
Solutions for main line railways
In 2009, Thales has also cemented its position as the world’s second largest supplier of rail signalling systems, winning a number of major contracts in Europe, North Africa and in the Middle East. Thales solutions address operators’ requirements for safe and automated solutions, which enable them to meet demands to modernise their networks or build new lines, while continuing to optimise their operational efficiency and ensure the highest levels of safety.
Continuing on from Thales’s 2008 successes in deploying the European Train Control System (ETCS) to regions beyond the European borders, the company was awarded a major contract in Saudi Arabia. Thales is implementing turnkey main line signalling, telecommunication, supervision, security and ticketing systems on the North-South railway line in a major contract worth €340 million. The contract represents the first implementation of the ETCS Level 2 in the Middle East as well as the longest implementation of the ETCS standard in the world. The new line is expected to be fully operational by 2013.
In order to modernise the signalling system of Tunisia’s mainline passenger and freight transport operations, Thales was awarded a €20 million contract to design, supply, install, test and commission the project, including the deployment of 14 LockTrac 6171 (PIPC) electronic interlocking systems.
In Europe, Thales signed a contract at the end of 2009 for €72 million to equip the longest rail tunnel in the world, the Gothard, with a complete signalling solution incorporating ETCS technology. The high-speed tunnel connecting Italian-speaking Switzerland with German-speaking Switzerland will reduce transit time between Zurich and Milan. In Poland - a country with the third largest rail network in Europe - Thales will be deploying the first ETCS line. The company has also signed further ETCS contracts in Germany, on the ICE line from Nuremberg to Munich, as well as in Turkey and Spain. In Turkey, Thales was awarded an €8 million contract to supply a signalling and communications solution for two sections of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed line with Turkish Railways (TCDD). In Spain, the modernisation of the 130km long route between Barcelona and Figueras will halve passengers’ journey time from the present one and half hours to 45 minutes. Thales has also won the maintenance contract for the signalling installations on the high-speed line between Madrid and Valladolid.
Jean-Pierre Forestier, Thales’s Senior Vice President, Transportation Systems Division, comments: “As 2009’ contract wins have demonstrated, Thales’s comprehensive offering and the Group’s substantial mission-critical systems integration expertise is recognised as leading the field by transport operators worldwide. Our 2009 successes bolster Thales’s position as a leading provider of secure, integrated transportation solutions in signalling, supervision and ticketing.”
About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace and Space, Defence, Security and Transportation markets. In 2008, the company generated revenues of 12.7 billion euros with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.
Press contacts
Thales, Security Solutions & Services
Victoire Le Barazer
Tel. +33 1 73 32 13 20
victoire.lebarazer@thalesgroup.com
Thales, Corporate Communications
Caroline Philips
Tel. +33 1 57 77 86 26
caroline.philips@thalesgroup.com