JOHANNESBURG--December 7, 2012--Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Gibela Rail transportation consortium of Alstom S.A. (ENX:ALO) (Paris, France) and the local company Actom (Boksburg, South Africa) has been awarded a $6 billion contract by the state-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. The contract covers the supply of 3,600 passenger coaches over a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025, and maintenance until 2033. Currently, Prasa operates a fleet of 4,538 coaches, of which 90% were procured in the 1950s.