French railway news – Page 26
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NewsFrench companies focus on change at InnoTrans 2020
INNOTRANS: ‘The rail industry as we know it is about to change’, says Clémentine Vallet, Project Manager, Operations at Business France which is organising two combined French rail industry stands in halls 3.2 and 11.2 at InnoTrans 2020. ‘Against the backdrop of the digital transformation in the ...
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NewsDirect London – Bordeaux trains could start in 2022, suggests SNCF
A direct London – Bordeaux service could be launched in 2022, President of SNCF International Diego Diaz suggested when commemorative boards were unveiled at London’s St Pancras station to mark a twinning agreement with Bordeaux Saint-Jean.
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Metro Report InternationalRATP trials pedestrian crossing warning system
FRANCE: RATP is trialling an experimental safety system near Vélizy’s town hall T6 tram stop. The system designed by French startup Copsonic involves speakers connected to a pedestrian crossing light, which emit an ultrasound signal when the light turns red. The signal is picked up by an ...
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NewsLightweight trains and no taboos in French secondary line rescue package
Source: Christophe Masse FRANCE: Development of lightweight rolling stock is one of several proposals put forward by the government to try and ensure the survival of much of the remaining network of secondary lines, many of which carry very limited traffic. Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste ...
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Metro Report InternationalStrasbourg orders 17 more trams
FRANCE: Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois exercised a further option on March 3 to order more Alstom Citadis trams. The final option in a 2014 framework contract for up to 50 vehicles covers a further 17 trams valued at €52m. This will bring the number of Citadis vehicles ...
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Metro Report InternationalBordeaux tramway Line D extended
FRANCE: A 5·5 km extension of Bordeaux tram Line D was opened on February 29, connecting Mairie du Bouscat to Eysines Cantinolle. The €250m project included nine stops and two car parks, which have all entered opened on the same day. Line D now runs 9·8 km ...
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NewsGIRO software to plan TER operations
FRANCE: SNCF Voyageurs has awarded GIRO a contract to supply its HASTUS software for managing the resources needed to operate its 8 200 TER regional passenger services per day, including 2 250 trainsets and 27 000 crew. ‘This project is fundamental to the business’, said SNCF’s TER ...
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NewsBrittany Ferries to launch Cherbourg – Spain rail motorway service
FRANCE: Brittany Ferries has announced plans to launch its first rail motorway service in 2021, a 980 km landbridge carrying unaccompanied lorry trailers between the Channel port of Cherbourg and Mouguerre close to the Spanish border near Bayonne. The rail service is intended to complement its ...
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NewsNormandie’s inter-city EMUs enter service
FRANCE: The first of 40 Bombardier-built Omneo Premium electric multiple-units procured by SNCF on behalf of the Normandie region entered revenue service on the Paris – Caen – Cherbourg route on February 17.
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NewsAkiem acquires Macquarie European Rail fleet
EUROPE: Leasing company Akiem Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Macquarie European Rail’s rolling stock leasing business, subject to regulatory approval. The transaction includes 137 locomotives used by 21 freight and passenger operators, including EMD Class 66, Bombardier Traxx, Alstom Prima and GE Transportation 311D ...
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Metro Report InternationalAptis electric buses ready to launch in Strasbourg
FRANCE: Alstom has delivered 12 of its first Aptis battery electric buses to Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois for use on Route H which is scheduled to launch on February 24. The 3·2 km route with 10 stops will connect the main station to ...
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NewsIle-de-France seeks to open RER network to competition by 2030
FRANCE: Ile-de-France is seeking to accelerate the opening up of local rail services to competition, regional President Valérie Pécresse announced on February 5. In line with the provisions of the EU’s Fourth Railway Package, the French regional passenger market is being liberalised with effect from January 1 2023. Under the ...
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News‘Father Christmas’ helps fund Bordeaux – Toulouse high speed line
SNCF Réseau has estimated that TGVs could link Toulouse with Paris in just over 3 h using the Tours - Bordeaux high speed line which opened in July 2017. FRANCE: Construction of the 222 km high speed line from Bordeaux to Toulouse may start in two years’ ...
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NewsFarandou reshapes SNCF leadership team
FRANCE: A new management structure for the ‘unified’ SNCF group was unveiled by President & CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou on January 16, following the first board meeting of the national railway group since the 2018 reforms came into effect on January 1.
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NewsInfrabel CEO nominated to head SNCF Réseau
FRANCE: The current head of Belgian infrastructure manager Infrabel, Luc Lallemand, has been nominated as the next head of French infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau, subject to approval by regulatory authority ART (formerly Arafer). At its meeting on January 7, the SNCF Réseau board reportedly endorsed the ...
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NewsFreight coalition publishes Contingency Management handbook
EUROPE: In a bid to avoid the widespread disruption to international rail traffic which occurred following the tunnel collapse at Rastatt in August 2017, and to provide greater resilience for commercially sensitive traffic, a coalition of rail freight operators and industry associations has put together a Contingency ...
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NewsHitachi Rail STS wins LGV Sud-Est interlocking contract
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau has selected Hitachi Rail STS to supply new interlockings for the modernisation of LGV Sud-Est between Paris and Lyon.
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Metro Report InternationalHydrogen buses enter service on BRT route in Pau
FRANCE: The Fébus bus rapid transit route in Pau was inaugurated on December 17, using a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses. Services on the 14-stop route are operated by Keolis using a fleet of 18 m long buses supplied by Van Hool. Connecting the city’s railway ...
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Metro Report InternationalGenève tram network crosses the border into France
SWITZERLAND: A cross-border extension of Genève’s tram network was inaugurated on December 15. The 2·5 km extension east from Moillesulaz on the border to Annemasse-Parc Montessuit serves four stops in France and is operated as route 17. Construction started in October 2018 and cost €57m. A three-stop ...
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Metro Report InternationalThree French cities expand their tram networks
Paris T4 was one of the lines that was extended on December 14. FRANCE: Tramway extensions were inaugurated in three cities on December 14. A 4·7 km branch of Paris route T4, northeast of the city centre, was inaugurated between Gargan and Arboretum. A further extension from ...