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French railway SNCF recently exercised an option on a 2007 contract to purchase at least 30 additional Euroduplex very high-speed train sets from Alstom. The order is valued at $1.2 billion.

SNCF initially purchased 55 Euroduplex train sets from Alstom. Those units are currently being manufactured. The first train set entered service in December 2011 on the new Rhine-Rhone high-speed rail; delivery will be completed in mid-2015.

The Euroduplex trains are designed to operate on the French, German, Swiss and Luxembourg networks. The units feature signaling equipment that’s compatible with all European rail lines, and are equipped with traction systems adapted to the various electric currents used throughout the region. Some of the train sets also could operate in Spain, Alstom said.