All France articles – Page 4

  • Southeastern Class 395 EMUs on the Medway viaduct
    News

    Australasian rail industry study tour to visit London and Paris

    16 July 2024

    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 ...

  • ChMASSE-FretPicture2024_1__WEB
    In depth

    France: Fret SNCF faces an uncertain future

    5 July 2024

    Christian Scasso assesses the changes that are set to transform France’s nationalised rail freight operations in 2025.

  • Ouigo
    News

    Low-cost high speed train operator Ouigo aims to double ridership

    25 June 2024

    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%.

  • fr-paris-Line 14 -opening2-IdFM
    Metro Report International

    Paris metro Line 14 extended north and south

    25 June 2024

    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

  • Passenger working on a TransPennine Express train
    News

    Business travel leaders say European train operators are missing an opportunity

    21 June 2024

    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.

  • Paris tram T12 (Photo Jeremie Anne)
    Metro Report International

    Paris metro and light rail operating contracts awarded

    20 June 2024

    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 ...

  • TER train.
    News

    Survey finds perceived cost deters rail travel

    18 June 2024

    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 ...

  • Paris Metro Line 11 Photo Jeremie Anne) (12)
    Metro Report International

    Paris opening doubles length of metro Line 11

    17 June 2024

    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.

  • Proxima Alstom Avelia Horizon high speed train impression (Image Proxima)
    News

    High speed train start-up Proxima announces €1bn launch plan

    6 June 2024

    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, ...

  • Midnight Trains
    News

    Midnight Trains drops plans for hotel quality sleeper train network

    4 June 2024

    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 ...

  • Disused station
    News

    ‘Audacious’ contract to revive Nancy – Contrexéville route

    29 May 2024

    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.

  • SBB Stadler Flirt EVO (Image Stadler)
    News

    Flirt EMUs ordered for cross-border services

    24 May 2024

    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 ...

  • Akiem Ostricourt workshop (Photo Jeremie Anne) (1)
    News

    Akiem opens Ostricourt locomotive maintenance centre

    23 May 2024

    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 ...

  • Paris RER Line A control centre (Photo Jeremie Anne) (5)
    Metro Report International

    Control centre opening marks latest stage in Paris RER modernisation

    17 May 2024

    FRANCE: Paris transport operator RATP and national railway SNCF have transferred the management of RER Line A to a new control centre.

  • Eurostar Group trains
    News

    Eurostar plans to acquire 50 ‘fully interoperable’ trains

    16 May 2024

    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 ...

  • SNCF CAF Oxygene train (Photo Jérémie Anne) (5)
    News

    Oxygène next-generation French inter-city train unveiled

    16 May 2024

    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 ...

  • RER E Ouest first train (Photo Christophe Masse)
    News

    Paris RER Line E reaches Nanterre

    8 May 2024

    FRANCE: An 8 km largely underground extension of Paris RER Line E from Magenta-Gare du Nord to Nanterre-La Folie (Hauts de Seine) has opened.

  • Sateba concrete sleepers (Photo Sateba) (3)
    News

    Concrete sleeper business bought

    6 May 2024

    EUROPE: French rail infrastructure supplier SATEBA Group has acquired the concrete sleeper manufacturing activities of Belgian company De Bonte Group. This includes more than 80 employees who last year produced 500 000 sleepers at plants in Laakdal and Baudour in Belgium and Montataire and Vers-Pont-du-Gard in ...

  • Le Mans tram (Photo Alstom)
    Metro Report International

    Le Mans transport network changes planned

    2 May 2024

    FRANCE: Keolis is support the development of plans to restructure the public transport network in Le Mans. There are currently two tram and 22 bus routes including one BRT route, which operate a total of almost 8·5 million km/year. Plans include the renewal of information and ...

  • Systra office (Photo Systra)
    News

    SNCF and RATP to sell majority stake in Systra

    1 May 2024

    SYSTRA: French national railway SNCF and Paris transport operator RATP have entered into exclusive negotiations for the sale of a majority stake in transport engineering consultancy Systra to Latour Capital and Fimalac. Latour Capital is an independent French asset management company investing primarily in companies where ...