Vingroup orders 200 Alstom metro trains, with 117 to be built in Vietnam

Production split between France and Vietnam

Vingroup and Alstom have signed a contract for 200 new-generation Metropolis trainsets for Hanoi’s urban railway network, according to Tuổi Trẻ. The agreement also provides for the transfer of technology needed to manufacture and assemble most of the order in Vietnam.

The first 83 trainsets will be designed and manufactured at Alstom’s Valenciennes Petite-Forêt facility in France, which serves as the company’s specialist center for metro trains. For the remaining 117 trainsets, Alstom will transfer technology, engineering processes and supporting equipment, while also supplying core components. Vingroup will organize their production and assembly in Vietnam.

The disclosed material does not specify the contract value, delivery schedule or the Vietnamese site that will handle local production. The planned allocation nevertheless places 58.5% of the 200-train order within the technology-transfer and domestic-assembly program, making local industrial execution central to the project rather than a small offset arrangement.

Five-car driverless trains for Hanoi

All 200 Metropolis trainsets will have five cars and lightweight aluminum-alloy bodies. Alstom’s design is intended to reduce axle loads, energy consumption and rail wear, while a wider body will provide additional interior space and passenger capacity.

The trains will operate at GoA4, the highest grade of automation, allowing fully automated driverless service. Their braking systems will combine disc brakes with regenerative braking, which recovers energy during deceleration for reuse. These specifications place the fleet’s operating model around automation, lower energy demand and reduced infrastructure wear.

Alstom Chief Executive Martin Sion said the contract and technology-transfer agreement marked an important step in the development of Vietnam’s urban railway industry. Vingroup Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Nguyễn Việt Quang identified high-speed rail, urban rail, bridges, ports, logistics and next-generation transport infrastructure as parts of the group’s infrastructure business pillar.

Order tied to a 979-kilometer network plan

Vingroup is participating in the Hanoi urban railway projects as general contractor through its subsidiary Vinhomes. Tuổi Trẻ described the fleet agreement as a key preparatory step for the city’s large-scale infrastructure program, although the report did not allocate the 200 trainsets among specific lines.

Hanoi’s capital plan through 2045 envisages an urban railway network totaling 979 kilometers across 18 lines. The scale of that program creates a potential long-term market for rolling stock, replacement parts, maintenance systems and technical skills. For Vietnamese manufacturers, the decisive test will be whether assembly of the 117 trainsets develops a durable local supplier base and production capability. For Alstom, the agreement combines an initial export program from France with a larger technology-transfer phase in Vietnam, linking delivery performance to the development of domestic industrial capacity.