France’s Alstom and Italy’s Atm Group (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) have announced a strategic joint venture to bid for the upcoming renewal of the Luas Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract in Dublin.
The companies said their proposal would be built on “pillars of operational excellence, customer satisfaction, sustainability and innovative technology integration”.
The partnership brings together two of Europe’s biggest transport providers.
Atm Group has been operating public transport networks in Milan in Italy, since 1931, in Copenhagen in Denmark, since 2008, and in Thessaloniki in Greece, since 2023.
Recently, the company expanded its presence to Paris, France, where it was awarded the management of 18 key bus lines in the Croix du Sud area. It transports about 3 million passengers daily and has 11,000 employees.
Alstom has been working in Ireland for over 20 years and manufactured the entire fleet in service with Dublin Luas. It also currently producing battery electric trains for Dublin’s DART+ network.
The company is present in 63 countries, employs over 86,000 people, and is at the forefront of low-carbon mobility. Its portfolio spans high-speed trains, metros, monorails, trams, signalling, infrastructure, and integrated digital systems.
Paolo Marchetti, Business Development Director, Atm Group, said that combining the strengths of Alstom and Atm will bring together a powerful blend of technical expertise and operational excellence.
“Leveraging Atm’s century-long experience managing Europe’s largest tram network in Milan – comprising 15 lines and three Light Rails over 157 km and serving more than 300,000 passengers daily – our joint venture is committed to delivering innovative and user-friendly transit solutions to support the future of Luas operations in Dublin,” he said.
Piers Wood, Managing Director for Ireland, Alstom, said the companies’ shared commitment to reliability, sustainability and innovation is at the core of its joint venture.
“We look forward to bringing our knowledge and our proven expertise in light rail systems to support the long-term success of Dublin’s Luas network,” he added
Luas carried an estimated 54 million passengers in 2024, representing an increase of over 12% on the 2023 figure of 48.2 million. It started running in 2004.
