ALSTOM TRANSPORT SA

Their core work

Alstom Transport is a major French rail equipment manufacturer that designs and builds trains, signalling systems, and rail infrastructure. In H2020, they focus heavily on next-generation train control and signalling (ETCS, moving block, automatic train operation), advanced traction systems using silicon carbide (SiC) power electronics, and railway cybersecurity. They bring large-scale industrial capacity to translate research prototypes into deployable rail technology, particularly through the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking where they are a core member driving Europe's unified railway architecture.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), Alstom focused on foundational Shift2Rail building blocks — control system design, IP communication protocols, initial SiC traction development, and first-generation automatic train operation concepts. By 2019–2023, the work shifted decisively toward prototyping and demonstration: keywords like "demonstrator," "prototype," and "zero on-site testing" dominate, alongside system-of-systems architecture, digital twins, and cybersecurity. This reflects a natural progression from R&D definition to industrial validation, with Alstom increasingly taking ownership of integration and deployment readiness.

Alstom is moving from component-level research toward full system demonstration and autonomous operation, making them an ideal partner for projects needing industrial-scale railway validation.

How they like to work

Alstom primarily participates as a strong partner (23 of 27 projects) but coordinates high-value traction projects — the PINTA series alone represents over EUR 14M in EC funding. With 284 unique consortium partners across 22 countries, they function as a network hub within European rail R&D. Their consistent presence across sequential project phases (X2Rail 1–5, PINTA 1–3, CONNECTA 1–3, FINE 1–2) signals they are a reliable long-term collaborator who stays through multi-year research programmes.

Alstom collaborates with 284 distinct partners across 22 countries, making them one of the most connected organizations in European rail research. Their network spans rail operators, signalling companies, universities, and component suppliers across the EU, with particularly deep ties within Shift2Rail consortium members.

What sets them apart

Alstom is one of very few organizations that spans the entire railway technology stack — from power electronics and traction to signalling, communication, and system architecture — within a single H2020 portfolio. Their role as coordinator of the PINTA traction series while simultaneously contributing to signalling (X2Rail) and communication (5GRAIL, CONNECTA) gives them unmatched cross-domain integration capability. For consortium builders, Alstom brings not just technical depth but the industrial weight to take research results through to deployment on real rail networks.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PINTA2
  Largest single EC contribution at EUR 6.2M — Alstom-coordinated project developing SiC traction and independently rotating motors for high-speed trains.
• X2Rail-4
  Alstom coordinated this capstone signalling project completing ATO, train integrity, and traffic management evolution with demonstrator delivery.
• 5GRAIL
  Bridges rail and telecom sectors — validating 5G as the successor to GSM-R for safety-critical train communication including ETCS and ATO.