Keolis, the unit of state railways SNCF, is bidding to operate metro and light-rail services in Gulf countries that are setting up public-transport networks, the French company’s first foray into the Middle East.
Keolis is looking at pursuing contracts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Keolis Executive Chairman Jean-Pierre Farandou said in an interview. He has also met senior executives from Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport. Farandou declined to identify countries where Keolis has submitted preliminary offers.
Countries in the region are developing metro lines domestically as well as passenger-train lines to connect the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations.
Entry into the Gulf markets would be a “big game-changer” for the company, half of whose turnover comes from France, Farandou said.
Revenue last year totalled 5.6 billion euros (USD6.36 billion), of which other European markets accounted for 39 per cent of sales, the Australia-New Zealand region for 6 percent and North America for 5 percent.
Contracts outside France include running the UK’s Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail lines as a partner in the Govia joint venture, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter-train network serving the Boston area and Melbourne’s Yarra Trams system.
Photo: www.bahnbilder.de
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