Alstom wins €3bn Indian Railways contract

French company Alstom said Tuesday it has won a 3-billion-euro ($3.2-billion) contract under which it will open a factory in India to supply the nation's rail operator with 800 electric locomotives.

Calling the deal "one of the strongest endorsements of the ‘Make in India’ policy of the government", Alstom said the freight locomotives to be delivered between 2018 and 2028 will play a crucial role in boosting the nation's transport infrastructure.

"This project, one of the biggest in Alstom’s history, is a breakthrough for our presence in India and demonstrates the success of our global customer proximity strategy," Alstom's Executive Vice President Henri Poupart-Lafarge said in a statement.

Under the deal an assembly plant will be set up in eastern Bihar state and two maintenance facilities will be built.

The first five locomotives will be imported and the remaining 795 made in the new factory, the Press Trust of India agency reported.

On Monday, General Electric said it had won a $2.6 billion contract to supply 1,000 diesel locomotives to the Indian railway operator.

The Indian government has pledged to invest $137 billion to modernise the country's vast rail network over the next five years.