French railway news – Page 26
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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 ...
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Metro Report InternationalLéman Express launches cross-border operations
EUROPE: The Léman Express cross-border suburban network serving Genève and Annemasse began regular operation on December 16, following a formal inauguration on December 12 and a weekend of public celebrations.
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom to supply 20 trams to Angers
FRANCE: Angers Loire Metropole has ordered 20 Citadis trams from Alstom to operate on the second route of the city’s tram network, which is due to open in the early 2020s. The order announced on December 10 is worth €55m. Deliveries are due to be completed by ...
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom-Bombardier consortium to supply up to 410 metro trains to Paris
FRANCE: Île-de-France Mobilités and RATP have selected a 50:50 consortium of Alstom and Bombardier to supply up to 410 trainsets to operate on the Paris metro. The contract announced on November 29 includes a base order worth €530m for 30 five-car walkthrough trainsets 76 m long for ...
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom wins contract to automate Marseille metro
FRANCE: Alstom is to supply trains and signalling for the conversion of the Marseille metro to fully driverless operation, the manufacturer announced on November 26. The €430m contract, financed by local authority Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence, will see both lines of the city’s rubber-tyred metro move to driverless operation ...
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NewsSNCF selects train connectivity technology supplier
FRANCE: SNCF has selected Klas Telecom and its local partner Seolane Innovation for a contract to provide LTE train-to-ground communications to support operational and passenger connectivity services. The first deployment of the supplier’s TRX R6 Connected Transportation Platform will support CCTV onboard regional trains, with passenger information ...
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NewsRATP and Getlink target French regional market
Photo: Christophe Masse FRANCE: RATP Dev has signed an agreement with Channel Tunnel operator Getlink to establish a joint venture to bid for tendered operating contracts in the forthcoming opening up of the French regional rail market. RATP would have a 55% stake in the joint venture, ...
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Metro Report InternationalAlstom rolls out next-generation Lille metro train
FRANCE: Alstom presented the first new-generation trainset that it is supplying to increase capacity on the Lille metro at the Villeneuve d’Ascq maintenance depot on November 14. Alstom is supplying 27 four-car rubber-tyred trainsets to operate on the city’s automated light metro network. The 52 m long ...
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Metro Report InternationalOGC Nice players kick off city’s third tram route
FRANCE: The third tram route in Nice was inaugurated on November 12 with a ceremony at Saint-Isidore attended by Mayor Christian Estrosi. As the route serves the Allianz Riviera football stadium, the ceremony was attended by OGC Nice players and manager Patrick Vieira. T3 services run along ...
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NewsMillet AFR resumes wagon manufacturing
FRANCE: Manufacturing of new wagons has resumed at the former Arbel-Fauvet-Rail plant in Douai, following the acquisition of the business by wagon leasing group Millet SA, the company confirmed on November 12. Assembly of grain wagons began in October, and the construction of tank wagons is expected to restart in ...
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Metro Report InternationalBattery trolleybuses delivered to Limoges
FRANCE: Limoges has taken delivery of two battery trolleybuses made by Iveco and Škoda Electric. Last year Iveco won a contract for two trolleybuses with an option for four more. The articulated vehicles made to Iveco’s Crealis design feature traction equipment from Škoda, which has also undertaken ...