Alstoms Lapa site in Brazil has completed the first XTrapolis Mega body shell for Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). It is the very first of 20 trains that are being built in Brazil at the French companys facilities.
PRASA is investing millions of dollars for 600 new trains, which is the largest rolling stock procurement programme in the countrys history. By the end of 2015, the first stainless steel shell will become the first completed train and the unit will then be shipped to South Africa where it will undergo testing and commissioning before entering passenger service in June 2016.