French railway news – Page 7
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NewsVossloh to acquire concrete sleeper manufacturer Sateba
FRANCE: A €450m agreement for Vossloh to acquire concrete sleeper manufacturer Sateba Group from TowerBrook Capital Partners was signed on July 30. Sateba has 1 120 employees and 19 production sites in 10 European countries, with a total capacity of around four million sleepers per year. ...
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NewsNancy – Contrexéville reopening contract signed
FRANCE: Another step towards restoration of commercial services over the 89 km route from Nancy to Contrexéville was taken at the end of June with signature by the Grand Est région and the Nova 14 consortium of the 22-year concession announced on May 24 for rehabilitation ...
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Metro Report InternationalRoubaix-Tourcoing tramway project planning advances
FRANCE: Métropole Européenne de Lille has awarded the Tramelis consortium a 10-year contract to provide project management services for the development of the planned 22 km Roubaix-Tourcoing tramway. The Y-shaped network to the northeast of Lille would run from the Neuville area ...
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NewsBattery-hybrid trainset enters service with Grand Est
FRANCE: Commercial trials with a hybrid multiple-unit featuring conventional electric, diesel and battery traction were launched in the Grand Est région on July 15. The train will operate on the Strasbourg – Sarreguemines route until November 24, during which tests will also be undertaken using hydrotreated ...
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NewsAustralasian rail industry study tour to visit London and Paris
INTERNATIONAL: The Australasian Railway Association is organising a study tour to London and Paris the week before InnoTrans, to provide delegates with insights into topics including interoperability, high speed rail, sustainability, infrastructure development and operations, as well as networking opportunities with industry leaders. The London leg ...
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In depthFrance: Fret SNCF faces an uncertain future
Christian Scasso assesses the changes that are set to transform France’s nationalised rail freight operations in 2025.
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NewsLow-cost high speed train operator Ouigo aims to double ridership
FRANCE: National passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs is aiming to double ridership at its low-cost subsidiary Ouigo to 50 million passengers/year by 2030, and to increase Ouigo’s share of the domestic high speed rail market from 20% to 30%.
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Metro Report InternationalParis metro Line 14 extended north and south
FRANCE: The length of Paris’ driverless metro Line 14 was more than doubled on June 24, when President Emmanuel Macron joined transport authority Ile-de-France-Mobilités and operator RATP to inaugurate northern and southern extensions
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NewsBusiness travel leaders say European train operators are missing an opportunity
EUROPE: Senior figures from the business travel sector have expressed frustration at the difficulty of incorporating rail options into corporate travel systems, saying the sector is failing to respond to demand as companies look for alternatives to flying.
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Metro Report InternationalParis metro and light rail operating contracts awarded
FRANCE: Paris transport authority Ile-de-France-Mobilités has awarded Keolis and RATP Cap Ile-de-France contracts to operate the future Grand Paris Express metro Line 18 and existing tram-train services T12 and T13. The 35 km fully automated Line 18 is to open in three phases, from Massy to CEA-St-Aubin ...
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NewsSurvey finds perceived cost deters rail travel
TER train. FRANCE: A survey of rail passengers and potential users has found that national train services are perceived as too expensive and too inflexible. Carried out by market research group IFOP for the National Federation of Transport User Associations (FNAUT), the survey also determined that ...
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Metro Report InternationalParis opening doubles length of metro Line 11
FRANCE: The length of the Paris metro’s rubber-tyred Line 11 is almost doubled with the opening of a 6 km six-station extension from Mairie-des-Lilas to Rosny-Bois-Perrier.
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NewsHigh speed train start-up Proxima announces €1bn launch plan
FRANCE: High speed rail start-up Proxima has announced a €1bn plan backed by investor Antin Infrastructure Partners to acquire 12 Alstom trainsets and launch open access services from Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes and Angers to Paris. Proxima has been established by former Voyages SNCF CEO Rachel Picard, ...
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NewsMidnight Trains drops plans for hotel quality sleeper train network
FRANCE: Start-up Midnight Trains has abandoned its ambitious plan to develop a network of premium overnight trains offering hotel-standard accommodation on European routes of up to 1 500 km from Paris, after being unable to raise the necessary funding. Co-founder Adrien Aumont said the rail sector’s ...
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News‘Audacious’ contract to revive Nancy – Contrexéville route
FRANCE: The Grand Est regional authority has awarded a contract to facilitate the rehabilitation and reopening of the 89 km route from Nancy to Contrexéville by December 2027.
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NewsFlirt EMUs ordered for cross-border services
EUROPE: Swiss Federal Railways has exercised an option for Stadler to supply a further 33 Flirt Evo electric multiple-units. These will be used to provide regional services between northwest Switzerland and Alsace in France every 30 min from the end of 2030. The order has been ...
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NewsAkiem opens Ostricourt locomotive maintenance centre
FRANCE: Leasing company Akiem has opened a locomotive maintenance and overhaul workshop near the Dourges Delta 3 intermodal logistics terminal in Ostricourt, south of Lille. Akiem has invested €22m in the site, including a €500 000 contribution from the French government. The ...
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Metro Report InternationalControl centre opening marks latest stage in Paris RER modernisation
FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP and national railway SNCF have transferred the management of RER Line A to a new control centre.
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NewsEurostar plans to acquire 50 ‘fully interoperable’ trains
EUROPE: International high speed train operator Eurostar says it is ‘preparing to invest’ in up to 50 high speed trainsets, which would be fully interoperable ’across five countries and beyond’. The new trains would enter service from the early 2030s, replacing the 17 PBKA and nine ...
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NewsOxygène next-generation French inter-city train unveiled
FRANCE: National passenger operator SNCF Voyageurs and manufacturer CAF have unveiled the first of the Z26700 Oxygène inter-city trainsets which will replace Corail locomotive-hauled coaches on 200 km/h inter-city serves on conventional lines. The Oxygène trainsets are designed to be ‘the reference inter-city train of the ...
