PARIS transport operator RATP announced on November 20 that it had placed an order for 49 more MF2000 metro trainsets with a consortium of Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation and AREVA TA.
Valued at €189m, the order is the second to be placed under a framework agreement covering up to 161 trainsets signed by RATP and the consortium partners in July 2001.
The steel-wheeled trainsets MF2000 are intended to replace progressively the ageing MF67 stock which forms around 40% of RATP’s current fleet, and are destined to operate on Lines 2, 5 and 9 of the Paris metro network. A pre-production unit delivered in January 2007 is currently being tested in revenue service on Line 2.
An initial build of 45 trainsets for Line 2 between Porte Dauphine and Nation was ordered in January 2006 for delivery between 2008 and 2010. The second batch of 49 sets now approved will continue the deliveries through to 2012. These cars are destined to operate on Line 5 which links Bobigny with Place d’Italie. The third route expected to get MF2000 stock in 2012-15 will be Line 9 from Pont de Sèvres to Mairie de Montreuil.
As project manager, Alstom Transport will be responsible for work worth €116m under the second contract. Alstom will source the main traction, braking and air-conditioning systems from its plants in Ornans, Tarbes and Villeurbanne, and assemble the trains at the Petite Forêt facility in Valenciennes. Driving cabs, bogies and painted car bodies worth €63m will come from Bombardier’s Crespin plant. Areva will supply the safety control systems, operating recorders and data transmission systems for around €10m.
According to the consortium, the MF2000 consumes 30% less energy than a traditional metro trainset thanks to improvements in the traction system and regenerative braking. Faster acceleration reduces travel and permits shorter headways. A SIL4 on-train video surveillance system developed by Areva will enable the driver or control centre to monitor activity in the passenger saloons.
