Alstom is negotiating its involvement in the railway electrification tender with Israel Railways, the French company's chairman and CEO, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, told "Globes." The Israel Supreme Court is currently hearing a case involving the electrification tender, following an appeal filed by Alstom against Spanish company Semi's win in the tender. In December, Justice Hanan Melcer said, "The raising of the rating (for the Spanish company, about which Alstom complained) is very disturbing to us."
According to Poupart-Lafarge, the talks with Israel Railways are focusing on the engineering aspects of the project, which is expected to take six years and electrify 420 kilometers of track. The tender won by Semi includes maintenance of the electrical equipment for 25 years. "In the coming weeks, we'll see whether the talks can be brought to a conclusion," he said.
The interview with Poupart-Lafarge took place next to a press conference held by Alstom in Paris to unveil the new technologies displayed at the international public transportation conference in Montreal last week. On this occasion, Poupart-Lafarge was asked about the cancelation of the tender for the Greater Tel Aviv light rail systems, in which Alstom's bid was NIS 1.8 billion higher than the NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd. budget framework.
"In most cities around the world, public transportation systems are developed over a long period, so it is not unusual for development to take a long time, for holding tenders to take a long time, or for some of them to be canceled. It's no surprise for us. We're still considering our cooperation in the project in Tel Aviv, and the type of solution we can offer. When the new tenders for solutions of various types are issued, we'll consider individually what to do on each one of them."
"Globes": Can you analyze the reasons why the tender failed?
Poupart-Lafarge: "Not with any precision. There was a tender, we submitted a bid, and the responsible authority was not satisfied with the results, so it is looking for new channels to manage the projects."
Israel is a leader in road congestion. Estimates are that closing the gap will require over NIS 200 billion in investments. What would you advise the Israeli government to do in order to change the situation?
"I think that the government is aware of the need for large investments, and there are also plans: electrification of the interurban railway, the municipal systems, and the high-speed line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I think that if we're talking about Tel Aviv, for example, what's especially important is the ability to see ahead how the investments will be made regularly, so that the gaps can be closed. There are a number of plans for the future, and I think that the most important thing is to simply carry out these plans."
How do you see the future of traffic in cities in the balance between the various means of transportation?
"The main question is capacity. There are large differences in capacity between buses, a light rail, a metro, and a heavy railway. All suitable means of transportation should be used as needed, so that there will be neither excess capacity nor under-capacity. There is no real competition between buses and the light rail. In Jerusalem, the light rail is very successful. It is full; you can't put buses in its place. The light rail is justified, given the level of demand."
This statement about Jerusalem is partly correct. There is indeed justification for a light rail in the city, but some of its success is due to the cancelation and change of bus routes designed to give the light rail exclusivity in most of the segments in which it travels. Complaints about this are frequently heard.
The new electric bus
At the press conference, Poupart-Lafarge presented the Aptis, Alstom's new electric bus, which it is seeking to differentiate from competing buses through its metro-style design ("we know that wherever the light rail runs, it becomes a municipal symbol. We intend to duplicate this attractiveness with Aptis"), and Mastria, an overall operating plan for municipal transportation management.
What is special about Mastria is the creation of a database about the use of urban transportation for the purpose of predicting future demand and optimizing the flow of traffic. The usage forecast, which also includes special events, such as extreme weather, large cultural and sports events, and demonstrations, makes it possible to change the frequency and method of use for the various means of transportation.
"This is the only system existing today that integrates the entire public transportation system: railways, buses, shared cars, and bicycles," Poupart-Lafarge asserts. "It's particularly significant when there are traffic disturbances. In such cases, instead of losing hours spent understanding what is happening and what needs to be done, the efficiency of the system can be restored in a few minutes."
The journalist was a guest of Alstom in France.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on May 25, 2017
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