Dec. 31 – Six power transformers of 400 kV to seven at 225 kV for the French high-speed railway system, for a total order value of €10 million. The Modena-based company Elettromeccanica Tironi, and two qualified partners in the sector of integrated technological services, Cegelec and Ineo, effectively enters the French high-speed railway market. The 13 transformers will be installed in four new substations that will feed the high-speed line “LGV Sud Europa Atlantique” which, from 2017 onwards, will feature a double-track structure in the 302 km between Tours and Bordeaux. “To understand the scope of the operation – said President Maurizio Tironi – it takes a few figures: €8 billion investment, 4,500 new jobs and four million passengers expected. It is a very important operation that broadens a lot of our international range. The project involves important economic actors, from the French rail network to EBI, the European Bank for investment.” The first relationship between the French railway system and Elettromeccanica Tironi began almost 20 years ago, in 1994, when the Italian company supplied 20 transformers and autotransformers to SNCF. In 1999 and 2004, two more major contracts for 8 power transformers at 225 kV were signed, to supply the high-speed lines “LGV Méditerranée” and “LGV Est”.
