Getlink has signed an agreement with French public transport operator Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) to form a joint venture (JV).

This JV will operate in the French regional rail market. Following the official approval of the agreement, RATP will own a 55% stake in the JV while Getlink holds the remaining 45%.

RATP operates and maintains passenger transport in France and internationally while Getlink focuses on operating and maintaining infrastructure and operating rail and shuttle services via the Channel Tunnel. This partnership will create a new organisation that combines both skillsets to meet the requirements of regional rail services tenders.

Group RATP chairman and CEO Catherine Guillouard said: “We are delighted to align ourselves with Getlink as the railway services market opens up.

“We are convinced that the high-level association of our many strengths across the whole value chain will make us a strong candidate for future opportunities in French regions.”

Getlink chairman and CEO Jacques Gounon said: “This partnership with the RATP group will enable us to combine our different strengths to promote mobility in the Regions for the benefit of the travelling public.”

In July this year, RATP Dev teamed up with Australian firm John Holland to bid for the upcoming Sydney metro project contracts. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bid for operating and maintaining Sydney Metro West and Sydney Metro Greater West projects.

In April last year, Alstom received a contract from RATP to provide its automatic train operation system I-CBTC to line 6 of the Paris metro in France.

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