ALSTOM has officially opened a new factory in the city of Hefei in China, which will become a centre for the design and manufacture of traction systems and components for metro trains, as well as providing project management and maintenance services.

Production capability at Hefei Alstom Rail Transport Equipment (Hatee) will be developed under a three-phase programme which will see trial production start in October.

Alstom expects that it will take between eight and 10 years to build up capacity to manufacture, maintain and retrofit up to 1500 traction systems a year.

The newly-developed traction systems produced by Hatee have been specifically designed for standard Chinese metro train designs, based on Alstom’s OPTonix range that combines high-frequency inverter technology, low weight and easy maintenance.

The new plant is an investment by Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment (Satee), one of Alstom’s 11 joint ventures in China and where Alstom holds a 60% stake.

The manufacturer signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Hefei City in July 2023, and an investment cooperation agreement with Hefei Xinzhan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in September last year.

Satee is supplying traction systems for Hefei Metro Line 8, the first fully-automated metro line in Hefei. Line 8 will be 22.5km long with 12 stations, operated with a fleet of six-car trains each capable of accommodating up to 2000 passengers.

Seven metro lines with a total length of 157km are currently under construction in Hefei, which plans to extend its network to 300km by 2025.

Alstom says that creating HATEE will support the industrial development of Hefei and Anhui province. Traction equipment will also be produced in Hefei for export.

In addition to the production of rolling stock and traction systems for the Chinese market, Alstom says it is major a supplier of signalling for the country’s high-speed network.

“Market potential and the favourable business environment has provided new opportunities for our development in China,” says Alstom China managing director, Mr Ming Geng.

“Hatee, as the first local manufacturing base for traction systems in Hefei, will play an important role in Hefei’s rail transit industry supply chain.”

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