Alstom launches faster high-speed train

France's Alstom unveiled a new generation of faster high-speed trains on Tuesday in a bid to keep ahead of rivals Siemens and Bombardier in the multi-billion dollar rail transport market.
The prototype "AGV", a successor to France's hallmark TGV fast trains, will have a commercial speed of 360 kilometres (223.7 miles) per hour versus 320 for current models, the manufacturer said. The train was unveiled in the historic French port town of La Rochelle at a ceremony attended by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who as finance minister in 2004 had played an important in a state-orchestrated bail-out of Alstom.
"That we are here today is testimony to the courage of Alstom because during its worst period it decided not to sacrifice its research and development," Sarkozy said in front of the new train.
With a sleek aerodynamic design, the AGV train resembles a Concorde plane, with the nose down, on rails. High-speed trains compete with regional airline destinations in travelling time, while the electric trains emit far less CO2 greenhouse gases than kerosene-burning aircraft.
Alstom said it has made 70 percent of the trains in the world that run faster than 300 km per hour. Alstom has won high-speed train contracts recently in Italy, Argentina and Morocco, while there are big projects on the horizon in California, Brazil and in China for the Shanghai-Beijing link.
"In order to maintain our leadership, we needed to broaden and update our range of products," Executive Chairman Patrick Kron said at the ceremony, saying the company had developed the train using its own funds.
The AGV is a new generation of the TGV train of which Alstom has sold 650 since it was launched in 1981. TGV stands for "Train a Grande Vitesse" and has become a global byword for fast trains, while AGV stands for "Automotrice Grande Vitesse" - a high speed train without a locomotive.
Rather than having a powerful locomotive at the front or back, the AGV uses motors located on the bogies beneath the train. Operators can vary the length of the train from seven to 14 carriages.
The first AGV is expected to go to Italian private rail operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV), which ordered 25 of them worth 650 million euros ($963.1 million), with maintenance and an option for 10 more.
Sarkozy said that in 2004, he decided partially to privatise Alstom and block a take-over by Siemens because the German firm wanted "the dismantling of Alstom, instead of the creation of the great European company that could have been".