CHINA: A consortium comprising Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Thales Rail Signalling Solutions and Shanghai Automation Instrumentation Co has signed two contracts worth €50m with Shanghai Shentong Group Co.

Alcatel Shanghai Bell will provide an integrated communications package on a turnkey basis, including project management, network integration and maintenance, whilst Thales will supply Seltrac to enable automatic operation of Line 11, Shanghai's new and longest metro line. Seltrac is already in operation on lines 6, 8 and 9.

The 44·9 km northern section of Line 11 is due for completion in 2009. Running from Jiading North to Jiangsu Road, it will have 58 trains serving 21 stations, including a branch to Anting. Phase 2 includes a further 14·6 km from Shanghai Jiao Tong University to Sanlin, serving eight stations from 2012. A further five-station extension is also planned.