FRANCE: The Hello Paris consortium selected to operate the CDG Express airport rail link has ordered 13 electric multiple-units to run the service at a cost of €160m, Alstom confirmed on August 1.
CDG Express will run for 32 km between Paris-Est and Charles-de-Gaulle airport Terminal 2, using a mix of new and existing tracks. The consortium of Keolis and RATP Dev had indicated its intention to buy Coradia Liner EMUs when selected for the operating concession in November 2018. The placing of the rolling stock contract follows the formal signing on July 19 of the 21-year concession agreement, which includes six years for preparation and 15 years of operation from the end of 2025.
The airport trains will be derived from Alstom’s Coradia Polyvalent family, of which 220 electric and electro-diesel units are already in operation. Alstom says they ‘will be unique to the CDG Express line, particularly in terms of interior fittings and onboard information, which will ensure an optimal passenger experience’.
Six of the company’s 13 French sites will be involved in the contract, representing 400 direct and 1 200 indirect jobs. As with other Coradia Polyvalent multiple-units, the trains are to be designed and assembled at Reichshoffen. Traction equipment will come from Tarbes and the motors from Ornans, while Le Creusot will supply the bogies and Villeurbanne the on-board computer systems. Safety equipment will come from Saint-Ouen, which will also participate in the design process.
‘Alstom is delighted to support the Hello Paris consortium as part of the CDG Express project’, said Senior Vice President France Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud. ‘This train will be a showcase of French expertise, which millions of passengers will discover when arriving at and departing from Charles-de-Gaulle airport, and it is a source of great pride for all our employees.’
