French railway news – Page 14
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NewsConsortium to develop low-cost operations to revive France’s local lines
FRANCE: Thales is part of a consortium of companies and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region seeking to reduce the cost of running trains on lightly-used rural lines.
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Metro Report InternationalParis tests metro Line 9 signalling upgrade
FRANCE: RATP has started test running with the Octys train control system being installed on Paris metro Line 9.
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NewsSNCF fined over Brétigny derailment
FRANCE: A court has found national operator SNCF guilty of homicide and involuntary injury following the derailment on July 12 2013 of a Paris Austerlitz – Limoges locomotive-hauled Intercités service.
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NewsMarseille – Nice capacity enhancement programme approved
FRANCE: Transport Minister Clément Beaune has signed the Déclaration d’Utilité Publique enabling the start of work on the first two phases of the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d’Azur programme to expand the heavily used Marseille – Nice corridor.
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Metro Report InternationalModernised trains to serve Paris Line 6
FRANCE: Work has started to modernise a fleet of 45 rubber-tyred MP89CC trainsets for use on Paris metro Line 6.
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NewsFrench open access passenger service postponed
FRANCE: Three factors have led Le Train to postpone the launch of its planned open access high speed services in southwest France from mid-2023 until early 2024.
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NewsKevin Speed sets out ambitions to provide high speed trains ‘for everyone, every day’
FRANCE: Proposals to launch high capacity commuter services on high speed lines into major cities have been announced by open access start-up Kevin Speed. The company was founded last year by Laurent Fourtune, who worked at Paris transport operator RATP in 2009-18 and was then Chief ...
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NewsWabtec awarded locomotive component maintenance contract
EUROPE: Leasing company Akiem has awarded Wabtec a five-year contract to maintain Alstom Prima and Traxx locomotive brake components, pantographs and HVAC in France and Germany. The companies will also work together to develop services including additive manufacturing, remote diagnostics and more sustainable HVAC refrigerants. The ...
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NewsElectrification extended southeast of Paris
FRANCE: Electrification of the 72 km Gretz - Longueville – Nogent-sur-Seine section of the Paris Est – Troyes main line and the 7 km single-track Longueville – Provins branch has been completed with the launch of electric services on October 3. Speeds and journey times are unchanged, but electrification is expected to improve reliability.
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NewsLallemand to step down as head of SNCF Réseau
FRANCE: Luc Lallemand is to leave his role as President & Director-General of infrastructure manager SNCF Réseau, the transport ministry confirmed on September 28.
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NewsEurostar cannot grow amid pandemic, Brexit and cost crises, CEO warns
EUROPE: Problems faced by Eurostar as a result of the pandemic, Brexit and rising costs have been set out in detail in a letter from outgoing CEO Jacques Damas to the Chair of the UK’s House of Commons Transport Select Committee. Chair Huw Merriman MP had ...
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Metro Report InternationalFirst Cityval light metro line opens in Rennes
FRANCE: Rennes Line B was opened on September 20, the first to use Siemens Mobility’s Cityval version of its Neoval rubber tyre automated light metro platform. The 14 km Line B runs from Saint-Jacques-Gaité through the city centre to Cesson-Viasilva with 15 stations. Project ...
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NewsLarge scale axle-counter contract awarded
FRANCE: SNCF Réseau has awarded Frauscher Sensor Technology a contract to develop, supply and maintain a new generation of axle-counter. The contract signed at InnoTrans 2022 runs for 10 years, with the possibility of a further five years and up to 30 years of maintenance. ‘Never before ...
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Metro Report InternationalMarseille orders maritime themed trams
FRANCE: Marseille transport operator RTM has awarded CAF a €57m contract to supply 15 trams, with options for more to support future expansion of the network. The seven-section low-floor cars from CAF’s Urbos range will be 42·5 m long. They will have a similar styling to ...
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NewsChemical company tackles wagonload performance
FRANCE: Real-time tracking data is helping chemical company Arkema to improve the performance of its wagonload shipments, building on a project conducted in partnership with digital transport management specialist Everysens and Fret SNCF.
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Metro Report InternationalDriverless trains introduced on Paris metro Line 4
FRANCE: Grade of Automation 4 unattended driverless operation on Paris metro Line 4 was launched on September 12. There are initially four trainsets running automatically alongside trains with drivers, and more are to be gradually introduced to achieve full automation by the end of 2023. Catherine ...
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NewsFrench regulator seeks improved network access for freight operators
FRANCE: Rail regulator Autorité de Régulation des Transports published its formal decision on September 6 in a dispute over network access between SNCF Réseau and freight operators Captrain France, T3M, Europorte France and Régiorail.
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Metro Report InternationalPredictive supply chain partnership
FRANCE: Internet of Things company Stimio and tram and bus component supplier CBM have partnered to offer a predictive maintenance tool directly connected to spare parts supply services. ‘Our end-to-end solution frees our customers from the complexities of IoT projects, letting them focus on business data ...
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NewsFirst TGV M unveiled by Alstom and SNCF
FRANCE: The first of 115 double-deck high speed trainsets branded Avelia Horizon by manufacturer Alstom and TGV M by SNCF Voyageurs has been unveiled ahead of dynamic testing at Velim in the Czech Republic from October. Speaking at the unveiling at Alstom’s La Rochelle test centre ...
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NewsPassenger services restart on the right bank of the Rhône
FRANCE: Passenger services have been revived on the 82 km line along the right bank of the River Rhône between Avignon and Pont-Saint-Esprit, which has been freight-only since 1973. Reopened with a ceremony on August 28, the line is one of six which the Occitanie region ...