French railway news – Page 35
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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 ...
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NewsLyon – Torino TBM completed
EUROPE: Tunnelling is expected to get underway towards the end of this summer at Saint-Martin-la-Porte in France on the test bore for the base tunnel planned to carry a high speed line between Lyon and Torino. This will use a 12 m diameter TBM built by NFM Technologies at Le ...
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NewsSpeedInnov to develop future TGV
FRANCE: The ministries responsible for transport, research and industry announced on December 17 the creation of SpeedInnov, a joint venture that is to develop ‘the TGV of the future’. The new joint venture also includes Alstom and ADEME, a government agency providing funding for projects aiming to reduce environmental impact ...
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NewsFret SNCF tests 1 000 m trains
FRANCE: Fret SNCF has been conducting trials of operating trains up to 1 000 m in length, running between the marshalling yard at Somain south of Lille to Woippy outside Metz. Comprising two coupled formations each with their own locomotive and driver, 12 test trains were due to be operated ...
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NewsTest train catastrophe on LGV Est
FRANCE: Opening of the 106 km second section of LGV Est-Européenne between Baudrecourt and Vendenheim for commercial services is likely to be delayed, following the high speed derailment of a TGV test train on November 14. SNCF Réseau President Jacques Rapoport told local media that it was ‘reasonable to expect’ ...
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NewsSNCF launches digital investment fund
FRANCE: SNCF has launched a €30m SNCF Digital Ventures investment fund, which aims to ‘actively seek and identify digital initiatives that will impact SNCF’s transport business’. The fund will invest in companies that are working with SNCF on innovation, and acquire stakes in companies specialising in areas that ‘are ...
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NewsTrenitalia planning Paris – Brussels high speed service
EUROPE: Italian national operator Trenitalia has confirmed that it is holding preliminary discussions with its suppliers and relevant regulatory bodies regarding the possible launch of an open access high speed service between Paris and Brussels. Speaking in Milano on October 28, Pietro Diamantini of FS Group's Passenger Division suggested that ...
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NewsCalais opens Modalohr terminal
FRANCE: A terminal for loading lorry semi-trailers onto Modalohr swing-tray wagons was officially opened at the Port of Calais on October 23. Costing €7m, it has been funded by the combined operating company for the ports of Calais and Boulogne as well as the European Union. From January 12 2016 ...
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NewsWabtec signs Faiveley Transport purchase agreement
INTERNATIONAL: On October 6 Wabtec Corp signed a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Faiveley Transport SA from members of the Faiveley family. According to Wabtec, the deal would ‘create one of the world’s largest public rail equipment companies, with revenues of about US$4·5bn and ...
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NewsMidi-Pyrénées orders more double-deck EMUs
FRANCE: SNCF has exercised an option for a further eight Bombardier Transportation Regio 2N double-deck electric multiple-units to be delivered in 2017-19. The €56·5m contract announced on October 1 is being financed by the Midi-Pyrénées region, which ordered an initial 10 Regio 2N EMUs in December 2013. In ...
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NewsTwo more LGV branches to go ahead
FRANCE: Transport Minister Alain Vidalies announced on September 26 that the government intends to proceed with plans to extend the high speed network from Bordeaux to Toulouse and Dax. The decision in favour of what is known as the Grand Projet Ferroviaire du Sud-Ouest reverses the negative finding of a ...
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NewsOuigo to expand as SNCF rethinks low-cost services
FRANCE: Ouigo low-cost TGV services are to be expanded to a further eight stations in the north and west of the country in 2016, SNCF announced on September 3. Faced with increasing competition from the liberalisation of long-distance bus services and the growth of ride-sharing, SNCF has unveiled a new ...
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NewsMidi-Pyrénées orders more multiple-units
FRANCE: Alstom Transport announced a €46m order to supply a further five electric and three electro-diesel Régiolis multiple-units to the Midi-Pyrénées region on August 5. This follows from an initial 25 units ordered in 2009 which began entering service on the routes from Toulouse to Latour-de-Carol and Mazamet from ...
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NewsWabtec to buy Faiveley Transport for US$1·8bn
FRANCE: On July 27 Wabtec Corp announced plans to acquire Faiveley Transport in a deal which would ‘create one of the world’s largest public rail equipment companies’, with revenues of US$4·5bn and a presence in ‘all key freight rail and passenger transit geographies worldwide.’ Shareholders owning 51% of Faiveley Transport ...