Alstom Transport will open a new manufacturing line dedicated to trams in Taubaté, Brazil, operational from December 2014. Based at the Alstom group’s existing hydro manufacturing site in Taubaté, the new manufacturing line will address the Brazilian and Latin American markets where tram projects are booming. The line, which represents an investment for Alstom of around 15 million euros, will cover an area of 16,000m². 

The first trams that might be produced in Taubaté are the ones ordered1 in September 2013 by the VLT Carioca consortium for the city of Rio de Janeiro. Alstom is supplying a catenary-free tramway system, which includes 32 Citadis trams along with power supply, signalling and telecommunication systems. The delivery of the trams is scheduled to take place between early 2015 and mid-2016, in time for the summer Olympics. In order to meet the contractual term, Alstom will produce the first Citadis in Europe and the remaining ones in Taubaté.

“The tramway is gaining momentum as one of the solutions for urban mobility issues in Brazilian and Latin America cities. This is why Alstom has decided to invest in a tram line in Taubaté, which will serve Brazilian projects as well as export projects in Latin America," said Michel Boccaccio, Senior Vice President of Alstom Transport in Latin America.

Alstom has sold 1726 Citadis trams to 43 cities throughout the world. 1500 Citadis are already in circulation and have carried more than 6 billion passengers since its entry into service some fifteen years ago.