French railway news – Page 30
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NewsSteel coil wagons ordered
FRANCE: Leasing company Ermewa has awarded Đuro Đaković Specijalna Vozila a 127m kuna contract to supply Shimmns TTU four-axle wagons which will be used to transport steel coil for car manufacturers. Deliveries under the contract announced on August 27 are scheduled to begin in Q4 2018 and continue throughout 2019. ...
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NewsOmneo Premium inter-city trainset on test
FRANCE: Bombardier Transportation has begun dynamic testing of the first Omneo Premium inter-city version of the Omneo double-deck regional train family. SNCF placed a €585m order for 40 Omneo Premium electric multiple-units in November 2016, acting on behalf of the Normandie region as part of an agreement to transfer responsibility ...
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NewsCatenary renewal fleet ordered
FRANCE: The RC2 consortium of TSO, Mobility, ETF and Setec Ferroviaire has selected Bergamo-based Tesmec Group to develop and supply a fleet of high-performance on-track machines for the replacement of overhead line equipment on Paris RER Line C. Under a €277m design-build contract awarded by infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau in ...
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NewsSNCF orders 36 EMUs
FRANCE: Bombardier Transportation is to supply further 36 Francilien high-capacity suburban electric multiple-units to SNCF, which has placed the €261m order announced on July 30 on behalf of Greater Paris transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités. The firm order has been placed within a 2006 framework agreement covering up to 372 EMUs, ...
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NewsSNCF confirms TGV of the Future order
FRANCE: SNCF Mobilités confirmed an order for Alstom to supply 100 high speed trainsets under the TGV of the Future programme at a board meeting on July 26. Branded Avelia Horizon by Alstom, the double-deck trains will be acquired at a cost of €25m per trainset, which SNCF says ...
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NewsFranco-Belgian passenger services to be enhanced from December
EUROPE: Amid concern from policymakers and rail advocates about the extent and quality of cross-border passenger services in Europe, SNCB is to reintroduce conventional services linking Charleroi and Mons with Maubeuge and Aulnoye in France from the December timetable change. Direct inter-city trains had linked Paris with the Wallonie region ...
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NewsRooftop running in Paris-Nord expansion plan
FRANCE: The refurbishment and expansion of Paris-Nord station took a step forward on July 9 when the management board of SNCF Mobilités selected Ceetrus as preferred partner for exclusive negotiation with Ceetrus to undertake the programme. Ceetrus is the commercial property arm of retail group Auchan, and SNCF said that ...
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NewsNext generation interlocking development programme launched
FRANCE: Infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau has launched the Argos ‘innovation partnership’ project to design its next generation of computer-controlled interlockings. The project which formally began on June 20 has three objectives: a 15% decrease in the cost of procurement, maintenance and future modernisation; reducing the cost, number of ...
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NewsSNCF reform legislation adopted
FRANCE: The consolidated version of the government’s railway reform legislation was formally adopted by the Sénat in a 245:83 vote on June 14, having been approved by the Assemblée Nationale 452:80 on the previous day. The text had been agreed by a joint committee of MPs and senators on ...
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NewsParis RER NG design unveiled
FRANCE: The final design for the next generation of double-deck EMUs to operate on the Paris RER network was unveiled by Ile-de-France Mobilités on June 8, at an event to mark the start of construction of the pre-series trains. Designated RER Nouvelle Génération, the EMUs are being supplied by a ...
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NewsLast train to Le Tréport
The cessation of passenger trains over the branch from Abbeville to Le Tréport has reignited debate over the future of France’s secondary lines within the ongoing railway reform programme. Jean-Paul Masse reports.
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NewsSénat approves French rail reforms
FRANCE: A revised version of the government’s draft legislation to reform the national rail sector was formally adopted by the Sénat on June 5, by 240 votes to 85. The legislation retains the core principles of the government’s proposed reforms, which had been adopted by the Assemblée Nationale in April. ...
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NewsBourgogne-Franche-Comté agrees operating contract with SNCF
FRANCE: A target of 22% growth in TER ridership has been set by the région of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté as part of an operating agreement with SNCF Mobilités running until 2026. The contract with the incumbent operator was announced by the regional authority on May 25, although it applies retrospectively from January ...
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Rail Business UKUniversity alliance to promote high speed rail
INTERNATIONAL: The International Union of Railways has moved to strengthen its nascent network of academic institutions which are intended to work together to promote the development of high speed rail. UIC first announced plans for its alliance of universities at the World Congress on High Speed Rail in Tokyo in ...
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NewsCompetition is key as high speed rail keeps growing
Global ridership has surged by 40% in the three years since UIC last staged its World Congress on High Speed Rail. Yet operators and policymakers must work hard to keep the rail mode ahead as competition grows both in and for the market. Benjámin Zelki reports from the latest summit ...
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NewsHigh speed services from London to Bordeaux, Frankfurt and Genève under discussion
EUROPE: ‘Advanced planning’ is being undertaken to facilitate the possible launch of a direct London – Bordeaux high speed rail service, HS1 Ltd confirmed on April 30. The manager of the high speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel also confirmed it was in very early stage discussions for ...
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NewsEU funding supports ETCS on LGV Sud Est
FRANCE: The European Union is to provide €117m from the Connecting Europe Facility to support the installation of ETCS Level 2 on LGV Sud-Est between Paris and Lyon, under a financing agreement signed on April 25 at the TEN-T Days conference in Ljubljana, attended by European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc ...
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NewsFreight restructuring as SNCF reforms push ahead
FRANCE: Visiting the port of Bonneuil-sur-Marne on April 16, Prime Minister Eduard Phillippe, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot and Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne announced a series of measures to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of SNCF’s rail freight business. The package includes increased support for intermodal transport and a ‘remission’ of ...
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NewsFrench government to order 100 ‘TGVs of the future’
FRANCE: Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that the government is to place a firm order with Alstom ‘by the end of June’ for 100 TGV trainsets. He was addressing a press conference on March 22 to update progress on the merger of Siemens Mobility and Alstom. These would ...
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NewsTransdev receives safety approval for French passenger market
FRANCE: Transdev announced on March 12 that its train operating subsidiary CFTA had received a certificate of railway safety. This is a prerequisite for Transdev to enter the main line passenger market as a competitor to national railway SNCF. CFTA already operates two rural passenger services in Bretagne, through a ...