Thales to supply transit ticketing systems in Beijing, Dubai, and Madrid
20 July, 2006
category: Contactless, Transit
Thales announced three new projects in major cities in Europe and Asia: the Beijing Metro, which is overhauling its fare collection system in time for the 2008 Olympic Games, the future Dubai Metro, and the new Metronorte line in Madrid.
Triple success for Thales in secure ticketing systems
Thales has won three successive contracts totalling more than €35m for the metro systems in Beijing, Dubai and Madrid
Brétigny-sur-Orge, France – Thales has recently won three successive ticketing system contracts – for the Beijing Metro, which is overhauling its fare collection system in time for the 2008 Olympic Games, the future Dubai Metro and the new Metronorte line in Madrid – further consolidating its strong reputation as a systems integrator for secure fare collection solutions worldwide.
In China, Thales has teamed up with local companies Beikong and LG to win the contract from Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corporation Ltd. to supply a new ticketing system for the network’s three oldest lines. The systems are scheduled to enter service at the end of 2007 and will be used by visitors to the Beijing Olympics in 2008. All seven lines of the city’s metro system will ultimately be refurbished. The contract follows an earlier Olympic success in Turin, where Thales upgraded the access control and ticketing solutions for the city’s metro system in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Turin’s system includes Europe’s first-ever combined park & ride solution, where users can use the same ticket to park their vehicles and ride the metro.
In the United Arab Emirates, Thales is to provide the secure ticketing system for Dubai’s first rail network, which will include two lines. The new network will meet the transport needs of Dubai’s 1 million inhabitants as well as the influx of visitors expected as tourism expands: up to 15 million people a year are expected to visit Dubai by 2010. Thales will be providing access gates, ticket vending machines, station computers and a central controlling system. The first line is due for completion in 2009, the second in 2010.
In Spain, Mintra, the organisation responsible for metro infrastructure in the Madrid region, has once again chosen to work with Thales. The company will participate in securing ticketing and access systems for the Spanish capital’s new Metronorte line, providing the line’s 11 stations with 103 access gates, of which 12 will be extra-wide gates for disabled travellers. The new system will help the operator to fight fraud and predict usage patterns on the Metronorte line.
Jean Louis Olié, Managing Director of Thales Transportation Systems, stated: “We are delighted to have been selected for these new projects, which further confirm Thales’s dominance of the intelligent transport systems market. We are recognised throughout the world for our experience in this area and for our secure ticketing technology. We look forward to supporting our customers as they roll out the major new phases in their network development programmes.”
About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, serving defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide, supported by a comprehensive services offering. The group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. Leveraging a global network of high-level researchers, Thales offers a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy critical information systems. Thales employs 60,000 people in 50 countries and generated revenues of € 10.3 billion in 2005, with a record order book of over € 20 billion.
The Transport & Energy activity of Thales
(www.thalesgroup.com/transport) integrates secure systems for public transport and energy activities like integrated fare collection, train supervision and control, road toll collection, traffic and fleet management, public parking systems, telematics and geolocalisation solutions. It also offers supervision of electricity, gas and oil transport systems, air navigation messages switching systems and secure payment solutions as well as a wide range of services that cover the whole life cycle of systems and products. Thales’ references in the field of transport systems include contracts in the Netherlands, Denmark, Oslo, Mexico, Bangkok, Taiwan, Nanjing, Singapore, New Delhi, Hong Kong, UK and France.
