Rollingstock and rail systems manufacturer Alstom has confirmed talks are taking place between it and Siemens over a potential merger.
Siemens had reportedly been after a merger with Bombardier, but after reports surfaced on Monday of talks between Siemens and Alstom, the latter confirmed to investors a deal could be on the table.
“Alstom confirms being in discussions with Siemens in connection with a possible combination of Alstom with Siemens Mobility Division,” the France-based multinational said in a short statement.
“No final decision has been made, discussions are on-going and no agreement has been reached.”
A merger between two of Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier has been discussed by pundits for some time, as a way for the three Western powers to challenge massive Chinese competitor, CRRC.
Alstom and Siemens are both major players in Europe’s high speed rail market, with the former’s TGV model train, and the latter’s ICE rollingstock, making up a large portion of the trains in service across the major networks.
Alstom is of course also a major player in Australian passenger rollingstock, with ongoing light rail vehicle contracts in Melbourne, and future deliveries of metro and light rail rollingstock in Sydney.
Meanwhile, Siemens is mostly focused on the signalling, communications and technology side of the rail sector in Australia, although there are some Siemens trains running on the Melbourne Metro, via contracts delivered in the early 2000s.