FRANCE: SNCF Voyageurs has confirmed an order for 22 CAF Régiolis electric multiple-units for use on the Marseille – Aubagne – Toulon – Hyères and Marseille – Toulon – Les Arcs-Draguignan routes.
The national passenger train operator is to operate the Zou!-branded regional services for 10-years from December 2029 under the €1·8bn Lot 3 contract which was awarded by Région Sud in October. SNCF Voyageurs will create a dedicated subsidiary, SNCF Voyageurs Sud Alpes Méditerrannée, to run the services.
The région is funding the €250m rolling stock order, announced on December 10.
CAF will design and manufacture the trains at its Reichshoffen plant in Alsace, with Alstom supplying equipment from its Le Creusot, Ornans, Tarbes, Villeurbanne and Saint-Ouen sites.
The six-car EMUs will have 310 seats with reading lights and power outlets, large panoramic windows and indirect LED interior lighting. There will be two dedicated spaces for people with reduced mobility.
’With this new order, we are responding very concretely to the expectations of residents and passengers who are demanding more modern, reliable and comfortable trains’, said President of Région Sud Renaud Muselier.
