French train maker Alstom has been awarded a €159m contract to provide driverless signalling for the upcoming Taichung Blue Line metro (MRT), a milestone project in Taiwan set to transform public transport across the city and beyond.

Alstom is part of an international consortium chosen by the Rapid Transit System Bureau (tcrt.taichung.gov.tw) of Taichung’s city government to deliver a complete metro system for what will become the city’s second fully-fledged MRT line, working with Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE), CTCI and Hyundai Rotem.

As the signalling consortium partner, Alstom will provide its Urbalis CBTC (communication-based train control) system, the same platform already in operation on Taichung’s Green Line. The system will enable Blue Line trains to operate more frequently and precisely, even at peak times, with shorter waiting times. It will help absorb the rising ridership as the city continues to expand. The system increases network capacity by allowing shorter headways, down to 90 seconds, which increases the frequency of trains and reduces commute time.

Spanning 24.8km and comprising 20 stations, the Blue Line will link Taichung Port in the west with Taichung Station in the east, creating a major connection between the present Green Line and the future Orange Line. Supporting the Blue Line project with Alstom’s technology contributes to fulfilling the long-term goal of the government to create an integrated, multimodal transit system for one of Taiwan’s fastest-expanding metropolitan areas.

“Following the success of the Green Line, which began revenue service in 2021, we are honoured to continue our journey in Taichung with the new Blue Line,” said Toby Tiberghien, managing director of Alstom in east Asia. “Urbalis will deliver an efficient and reliable driverless signalling system through high quality and service excellence, supporting our commitment to build a better-connected future for the city.”

With over 40 years of active presence in Taiwan, Alstom has delivered signalling systems to the Taipei Metro (english.metro.taipei) line and continues to play a role in Taiwan’s future of public transport, from automated metros to trams. Today, in addition to Taichung’s Green Line signalling system in revenue service, Alstom also supplies the Urbalis Forward signalling in Taiwan for Taipei Wanda lines in construction, as well as 35 Metropolis metro trainsets for the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin Line.

Alstom (www.alstom.com) has over 30 years of expertise in CBTC and equipped more than 190 metro lines across 32 countries. With its presence in 64 countries and over 84,700 employees from 184 nationalities, the company focuses its design, innovation and project management skills to where mobility is needed. Listed in France, Alstom generated revenues of €17.6bn for the year ending March 2024.