FRANCE: Alstom, Transdev and Région Sud have unveiled the first Omneo Premium electric multiple-unit to operate Marseille – Toulon – Nice services in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur area.
Unveiled at Alstom’s Crespin plant on November 23, the first unit is expected to visit the Velim test track in the Czech Republic for a series of dynamic overspeed tests from the end of November. It will then return to Crespin for final static tests and fitting out of the interior before starting pre-operational service.
In November 2021 Région Sud awarded Transdev a PSO contract to operate the Marseille – Nice route from mid-2025, and the operator established Transdev Rail Sud Intermétropoles as its operating subsidiary. TSRI is procuring the 16 eight-car Omneo Premium EMUs from Alstom at a cost of €250m, and these will be transferred to the region at the end of the contract.
Series deliveries are scheduled to start from the second half of December 2024, with three trains arriving per month; all 16 are to be delivered by May 2025. According to Alstom, 544 Omneo trainsets have been ordered by 10 French regions to date.
Partially double-deck EMU
The 200 km/h EMU has been configured to meet the specific requirements of the region and Transdev. These include a catering area with a ‘convivial’ space, a separate first class area and an interior ‘reflecting the image of the region and of the line’, while the large windows will take advantage of the natural light and provide sea views.
The 110 m long trainsets have alternate single and double-deck vehicles, giving a total of 352 fixed seats, plus 49 folding seats for short journeys and 12 bicycle spaces. They are equipped with CCTV, wi-fi, passenger counting technology, seat and bicycle space reservation systems, dedicated spaces for luggage, USB- and power sockets and 4G train to ground communications. To facilitate level-boarding, an automatic sliding step is deployed to cover the gap between the train doors and the platform.
Two EMUs will be able to operate in pairs when required.
The trains will be equipped to operate using the ETCS to be deployed on the Marseille –Nice line from 2028. They will also be compatible with the infrastructure changes and new alignments to be delivered as part of the route reconfiguration under the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d’Azur project.
More and greener services
In line with the requirements of the contract awarded by Région Sud, Transdev is expected to double the service on the route, operating 15 trains each way per day, compared to the current seven; an hourly service will be provide over a wider period. At the same time, the concessionaire will be expected to improve the quality of service and its reliability, achieving 97·5% punctuality.
Traction energy will be ‘100% green’, and all of French origin, with the operator purchasing green certificates from electricity suppliers. Transdev drivers will be trained to use eco-driving techniques.
The new rolling stock will be maintained at a new depot which Transdev is to build near Nice station. As well as optimising the maintenance regime, this is intended to ensure maximum fleet availability at peak times.
TRSI Director-General Gwendal Gicquel told Railway Gazette that the new operator was expecting to hire around 200 staff in total. To date 30 employees of SNCF Voyageurs have already accepted the offer to join TRSI, he reported, but a further 150 remain to be recruited.
