FRANCE: A rolling stock climate testing chamber which can provide temperatures from -45°C to 70°C and humidity from 5% to 95% has been built at the Centre d’Essais Ferroviaires centre in Valenciennes.
This will provide additional testing capacity, as high demand means France’s existing facility at Alstom’s La Rochelle factory is often booked up.
The chamber, which was officially opened on January 20, is 45 m long, 6 m wide and 6·5 m high. It can be split into lengths of 7·5, 15 and 22·5 m to suit the vehicle being tested.
The first vehicles to visit will include metro trains for Marseille, Paris and Cairo, and Coradia EMUs for German transport authority LVNG.
The €4·4m facility was funded by CEF and Banque Publique d’Investissement, and it is available for use by any manufacturer.
