French railway news – Page 35
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NewsTrain interior celebrates nature and culture
FRANCE: To promote the architectural and natural heritage of the region they serve, SNCF is decorating the interiors of five trainsets deployed on Line N of the Transilien suburban network, running from Paris Montparnasse to Mantes-la-Jolie, Dreux and Rambouillet. The programme being undertaken in conjunction with CMN, the government ...
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NewsSNCF Réseau approves €46bn spending plan
FRANCE: Meeting on December 20, the board of infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau formally approved the first multi-year performance contract with the national government, as required under railway reform legislation enacted in 2014. Welcoming the government’s long-term commitment to the rail network as a ‘very important step’, SNCF Réseau said the ...
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NewsCoradia Liner inter-city multiple-unit on test
FRANCE: Testing of the first Alstom Coradia Liner inter-city electro-diesel multiple unit has begun on the Paris Est – Troyes – Belfort line. SNCF awarded Alstom a €346m contract in October 2013 covering the supply 34 six-car Coradia Liner multiple-units to replace locomotive-hauled stock on trains d'équilibre du territoire inter-city ...
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NewsSNCF launches free wi-fi on TGVs
FRANCE: SNCF began offering passengers free wi-fi on some TGV trainsets on the Paris – Lyon route with effect from December 15. This is the first phase of a wider roll-out which aims to provide wi-fi coverage for around 80% of TGV passengers on high speed and conventional lines by ...
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NewsRégiolis enters service in Clermont-Ferrand
FRANCE: The first of 29 Alstom Régiolis multiple-units which SNCF has ordered on behalf of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region entered service with the December 11 timetable change. The order placed under a national framework agreement between SNCF and Alstom includes 12 dual-voltage electro-diesel sets for use on routes from Clermont-Ferrand to ...
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NewsAlstom update on Belfort rescue package
FRANCE: Timescales for the government-backed rescue package for Alstom's Belfort plant which had been announced on October 4 were given by Secretary of State for Industry Christophe Sirugue and Alstom Chairman & CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge on November 28. This followed the first meeting of a monitoring committee which was formed ...
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NewsFirst order for Omneo Premium inter-city EMUs
FRANCE: SNCF has placed the first order for the Premium inter-city version of Bombardier Transportation’s Omneo double-deck electric multiple-unit, acting on behalf of the Normandie region. The €585m firm order announced on November 24 covers 40 EMUs scheduled to enter service from the end of 2019. The Omneo Premium design ...
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NewsGrand Est agrees TET transfer
FRANCE: Meeting in plenary session on November 18, the Grand Est regional council approved an agreement that will see it become responsible for three routes within the loss-making Trains d’Equilibre du Territoire network of conventional passenger services operated by SNCF. Grand Est, formerly the Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine regions, is ...
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NewsFunding approved for Paris EMU order
FRANCE: The board of Ile-de-France transport authority STIF approved on November 15 the provision of €500m to fund the purchase by SNCF of a further 52 Francilien electric multiple-units from Bombardier Transportation. The EMUs are scheduled to be delivered from March 2018 to operate on suburban lines J and L ...
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NewsEurostar 'confident' as Amsterdam plans gather pace
EUROPE: Eurostar said it was seeing ‘signs of recovery in the trading environment’ when it announced its Quarter 3 results on November 4, with passenger numbers in the previous eight weeks increasing year-on-year. This followed a ‘challenging period’ when demand had been dampened by the Nice terrorist attack in July. ...
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NewsSNCF Réseau raises €900m with inaugural green bond
FRANCE: SNCF Réseau has raised €900m with its inaugural 15-year ‘green bond’, which it says was the first to be issued by a railway infrastructure manager and the first issued by a European transport company. Crédit Agricole CIB, HSBC France and JP Morgan acted as joint lead managers. The proceeds ...
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NewsFinnish firm wins TGV lighting contract
FRANCE: SNCF has selected Finnish company Teknoware to supply LED interior lighting for the refurbishment of its Alstom-built TGV Duplex double-deck high speed train fleet. The contract covers the supply of main lighting elements housed in opening ceiling frames on both sides of the aisles, as well as indirect mood ...
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NewsEurostar to cut services and jobs
EUROPE: Cross-Channel high speed train operator Eurostar is to reduce the number of services it operates by 8% and intends to cut 80 jobs. ‘This is a challenging environment for all travel companies and we need to manage our costs very carefully’, Eurostar told Railway Gazette. ‘That’s why we are ...
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NewsVIIA Britanica ‘rail motorway’ launched
FRANCE: SNCF Logistics subsidiary VIIA has launched its VIIA Britanica unaccompanied lorry semi-trailer service between the Port of Calais and Le Boulou near the Spanish border, with the first southbound train departing at 02.00 on March 30. Described as the longest ‘rail motorway’ in Europe, VIIA Britanica avoids a 1 ...
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NewsLyon - Torino ‘a priority’, say France and Italy
EUROPE: Construction of the new railway between Lyon and Torino via a base tunnel under Mont Cenis is ‘a priority’ for France and Italy, the two governments stressed on March 8 as they held a summit in Venezia. During the summit, Italian Minister of Infrastructure & Transport Graziano Delrio and ...
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NewsIzy budget Paris – Brussels train service to offer €10 standing tickets
EUROPE: Plans to launch a low-cost train service between Paris Nord and Brussels Midi were revealed by high speed operator Thalys on March 1. Branded Izy, it is due to launch on April 3 using Thalys staff and two green and purple liveried trainsets. Izy will operate on conventional rather ...
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NewsTesting resumes on LGV Est
FRANCE: Dynamic trials on the second section of LGV Est-Européene between Baudrecourt and Vendenheim resumed on February 29. Testing of track, electrification, signalling and radio systems on the high speed line is being carried out under stricter safety procedures introduced following the fatal accident at Eckwersheim on November 14 2015. ...
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NewsNewrest wins SNCF catering supply contract
FRANCE: Newrest announced on February 22 that its subsidiary Facilit’Rail had been awarded a contract by SNCF to provide logistics for on-train catering on TGV, iDTGV and Intercités services, as well as the Alleo high speed joint venture with DB. Running for ‘just over’ four years, according Newrest, the contract ...
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NewsRobots on test at Paris stations
FRANCE: A robot luggage trolley and two types of cleaning machine are being tested in Paris by SNCF’s station management business Gares & Connexions. The motorised luggage carrier has sensors which enable it to automatically follow the route taken by staff who are assisting less-mobile passengers at Paris Est. ...
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NewsBretagne funds EMU order
FRANCE: On February 16 Bombardier announced that SNCF had placed a €34m order for an additional four eight-car Regio 2N double-deck electric multiple-units. They are being financed by the Bretagne region and are scheduled to be delivered in 2019. The order is an option on a 2010 framework agreement ...