Alstom, Entreprise Métro d'Alger (EMA), Ferrovial and Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires (SNTF) signed a frame agreement to extend the activities of the joint venture Cital to include the assembly and maintenance of regional and intercity trains, in addition to its current focus on Citadis trams.

The new agreement also includes SNTF’s entry into the Cital joint venture as a shareholder. SNTF intends to order 98 Coradia trains from Cital. The acquisition is part of the operator’s plan to extend its rail network, own a larger fleet able to circulate on various types of lines, and offer an enhanced quality of service to its passengers.

The Cital site in Annaba, currently dedicated to the assembly and maintenance of Citadis trams, will be extended from the current 495,139 square feet to over two million square feet. It will house an engineering department, new production lines and a maintenance depot. It will have the capacity to produce one Coradia train per month.

The new activity will progressively create up to around 270 direct jobs at the Annaba site. Alstom will provide training and will transfer skills and technology to Cital’s employees for the production and maintenance of the new trains.