Alstom Kicks Off Chennai Metro Production While Weighing €2 Billion Debt Reduction

Alstom has begun manufacturing 96 additional metro cars for Chennai Metro, the French rolling-stock maker said Thursday. The vehicles will form 32 driverless train sets under a contract worth €135 million, which also covers 15 years of maintenance. The new cars are destined for the second phase of the network's expansion.

The production start came on the same day Alstom published its report on the ecological, social and economic impact of its business, which put order intake at €27.6 billion and revenue for fiscal year 2025–26 at €19.2 billion.

Riyadh Contract and Bengaluru Milestone

In Saudi Arabia, the company signed a contract worth around €460 million with the Royal Commission for Riyadh City on 6 November, covering additional driverless metro trains and their integration into the existing infrastructure. The order spans three lines in the Saudi capital.

A day earlier, Alstom reported that its CBTC signalling system had enabled passenger service on an initial section of the Pink Line in Bengaluru, linking six stations across 7.5 kilometres.

Guidance Cut Triggers Rating Outlook Change

The commercial wins sit against a tougher financial backdrop. On 2 November, Alstom lowered its forecast for the adjusted operating margin in fiscal year 2026/27 to around 1 percent from roughly 6.5 percent, citing delays in industrialisation and certification of the Coradia Max as well as other projects handled in Germany. Free cash flow is now expected to show an outflow of €1.5 billion for the year, rather than the positive figure previously announced.

Moody's responded on Monday by affirming Alstom's Baa3 long-term issuer rating but shifting the outlook from stable to negative. The company pointed to an additional €2 billion revolving credit facility.

Debt Reduction Under Review

Alstom has also begun examining options to cut debt by around €2 billion, with September 2027 set as the time horizon. The company reaffirmed that target. The adjusted operating margin has been running at around minus 4 percent, and free cash flow stood at negative €1.25 billion.

Investors will get a fuller picture on 17 November, when Alstom releases its half-year results for fiscal year 2026/27.