Eurostar decision causes friction
French firm complains about train deal.
A French engineering company has complained to the European Commission about a decision by Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail operator, to buy trains from a Germany company, Siemens.
Alstom sent a letter to Michel Barnier, the European commissioner for the internal market, on Tuesday (19 October) complaining that EU rules on public procurement had not been followed when Eurostar decided to buy ten Velaro trains from Siemens.
A spokeswoman for Barnier said that the Commission could assess whether EU rules on public procurement had been broken only once the entire procedure had been completed. Eurostar has not yet completed the purchase of the trains.
Alstom last week asked the Commission to suspend the procedure to prevent Eurostar going ahead with the purchase. But after examining the case the commissioner decided there had not been a “serious breach” of public procurement rules that would warrant blocking the transaction.
The argument over the trains is seen as politically fraught. The French government has claimed that the Siemens trains do not meet safety rules for the tunnel.
When Eurostar announced its purchasing decision last week, Dominique Bussereau, France’s transport minister, said that it was “null and void” because the Siemens trains did not meet the necessary standards.
Breakdown fears
The French authorities argue that trains used in the tunnel have to have an engine at each end so trains can be pulled in either direction in case of a breakdown. The new Siemens trains have distributed power, meaning that the drive is spread along the length of the train.
Safety standards for trains using the tunnel are decided by a Franco-British body called the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission (CTIC).
The CTIC did not object to the safety specifications Eurostar included in documents issued six months ago for the purchase of new trains. Some reports say that the model Alstom put forward for the contract, the ACS, also has a distributed power system and would therefore also fall foul of the safety restrictions.
EU sources said that Eurostar’s decision suggested that EU public procurement rules were working well. Until now, Alstom has supplied all of Eurostar’s trains.
The financial stakes for the rival firms are high, as the decision on the new rolling stock will be followed by an €800 million contract to modernise the 27 trains that Eurostar currently uses.
From 2013, trains will run through the Channel Tunnel between Frankfurt and London in what is seen as a major step forward for the liberalisation of rail travel.