Hubert Peugeot, Vice President Commercial of 'Alstom' - I am optimistic about Belgrade metro

French ‘Alstom’ has been successfully working in Serbia in several sectors for years. One can hear most often about the company in Media , when the plans for the construction of metro in Belgrade are mentioned. ‘Alstom’ , the factory which produced every fourth metro in the world, could deliver vehicles and electrical equipment for Belgrade metro.

We met with the ‘Alstom’ representatives at a very busy stand of the company at the ‘UITP World Congress and Exhibition’ Fair, which was held in June in Milan. In the interview for ‘eKapija’, Hubert Peugeot, the Vice president Commercial of ‘Alstom’ talked about the projects of the French company in the whole Europe, about the plans for Serbia and the Belgrade metro project, modernization of Serbian railways, and about the things which made the greatest impression on him when he visited our country.

eKapija: What are your impressions about the World Transport Fair in Milan?

- This event enables us to meet a lot of buyers and partners. UITP is held every two years and it represents a great opportunity to concentrate this business in one place and to meet people from your line of work.

eKapija: Which ‘ Alstom ‘projects are you most proud of?

- That is a very difficult question, because we have worked in many European countries. The important countries for the history of ‘Alstom’ are France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Spain… Today ‘Alstom’ has factories and companies in different fields in several countries in Europe. We have a lot of references in the transport field. We are constantly developing new products and we are primarily focused on urban transport, trams and metro projects in several countries.

We are proud of every project, because each one has specific demands depending on a country where it is realized. We want to be competitive for every job, regardless of its scope, state or standards.

In France we have our high speed trains-TGV. We also have very successful jobs, for example, the delivery of trams to Italy and Great Britain. We have introduced signaling for Italian railways and now we are working in Romania and Serbia. We are hoping to repeat the good story as in Italy.

eKapija: You are engaged in providing the signaling system on the section Belgrade – Pancevo in Serbia.

- Yes, we are working on that with our partners Russian state railways, who are engaged in modernizing the railway net. ‘Astom’ will install its electronic control and signaling system and this will be the first phase. We are expecting the realization of the second phase of signaling on the second section next year.

eKapija: The latest generation of ‘Alstom’ high speed trains AVG started running on Italian railways a few years ago. Are such trains intended for the southeastern European countries?

- We have a limited market for AVG today. If there are potential, we are ready to deliver it. In Europe you have two types of countries- where the optimal train speed is 250 km per hour and where tracks are in such conditions that it is possible to develop only low speed trains. High speed trains have the advantage, first of all in countries with long distances between cities, that is 150km. This is the model which is the most realistic for Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.

eKapija: Have you had a chance to travel by Serbian trains? How do Serbian railways seem to you?

- I was in Serbia between 2007 and 2009. I had the chance to travel once by train from Zagreb to Belgrade. The railway traffic has been improving step by step. Owing to the European funds, it seems to me that there is a growing number of investments for railway projects. That is a good thing, because Serbia is in the important strategic place in Europe and it is worth investing money in advanced railways because it connects it to Slovenia, Croatia and Greece.

eKapija: Does ‘Alstom’ has trains which would suit Serbian railways?

- Of course, you just need to buy them. We have state-of-the-art types of trains. As I have said, Serbia has the strategic place in Europe railways and that is why it is necessary to enhance infrastructure first and then buys trains.

ekapija: ‘Alstom’ signed with the city of Belgrade the Memorandum of understanding in 2011 and after that the Serbian and the French Prime Ministers signed the Memorandum last year. There was a talk about ’Alstom’s’ participation in the realization of the Belgrade metro. How far did it get with the negotiations? What were the last agreements of ‘Alstom’ with the city of Belgrade and the Serbian Government?

- According to the experiences from Belgrade, it is very important that projects from the field of traffic obtain double support –both the city’s administration and the Government of Serbia. First of all, it is necessary to find funds and then approach to the realization of the program. Time is necessary for project realization. We have the preliminary consortium which is ready. The French state should provide funds. The city of Belgrade defines the route of the first metro line. I am optimistic about it and I expect that the European Union will support large projects in Serbia.

eKapija: What has made the strongest impression on you in Serbia?

- It was very nice visiting Serbia, I love the atmosphere of Belgrade. I liked most the view on the confluence of the river Sava and into the Danube from Kalemegdan fortress.

ekapija: When will you visit Serbia again?

- As soon as we sign the Agreement on metro, I will come the day after that – says Hubert Peugeot with a smile at the end of the interview .

Suzana Obradovic

Predstavništvo Alstom Holdings Beograd

Alstom-Transport SA, Saint Quen, France

RŽD International

The International Association of Public Transport Belgium

EKAPIJA

Alstom

Hubert Peugeot

UITP World Congress and Exhibition

UITP World Congress and Exhibition Milan

UITP

UITP Milan

UITP Milano

UITP u Milanu

Milan

Milano

urban transport

signaling

AGV

TGV

fast trains

high speed trains

Belgrade track Beograd Pančevo

signaling of tracks Beograd Pančevo

metro Belgrade

Belgrade metro

metro in Belgrade