Bombardier consortium wins rail systems tender for Mexico's 'Mayan Train' project

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A consortium led by a unit of Bombardier Inc won a bid for the rolling stock and rail systems for Mexico's flagship "Mayan Train" infrastructure project, the government said on Wednesday.

The project represents an investment of 36.6 billion Mexican pesos ($1.84 billion) and includes the design, manufacture, delivery, testing and commissioning of 42 trains, the National Tourism Promotion Fund (Fonatur) said in a statement.

The consortium was led by Bombardier Transportation México SA de CV and also included France-based Alstom SA , Mexican firm Gami Ingenieria e Instalaciones S.A. de C.V, the Mexican unit of Azvi S.A.U. known as Construcciones Urales S.A. de C.V., and Construcciones Urales Procesos Industriales SA de C.V.

The consortium's proposal came in 890 million pesos lower than the second offer received, Fonatur said. The first tests of the equipment for the project will be carried out by 2023.

The 1,470-km (913-mile) Mayan Train rail line is designed to connect tourist hot spots from southern Chiapas state to the Yucatan Peninsula along the Atlantic coast, including the popular Maya ruins of Palenque and Chichen Itza to the beach resort Cancun.

French trainmaker Alstom participated in the building of Mexico City's Line 12 metro railway, which recently collapsed in one section, as part of a consortium that also included Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's construction arm Grupo Carso and Mexico's ICA.

City investigators, supported by an external auditor, are investigating the May 3 incident.

($1 = 19.8784 Mexican pesos)

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison and Sharay Angulo; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)