FRANCE: Acting on behalf of the Hauts-de-France region, SNCF has awarded Bombardier Transportation a €565m firm contract to supply 33 Omneo Regio2N double-deck regional electric multiple-units from its Crespin plant in 2024-25.
The order announced on December 22 has been placed under a 2010 framework agreement covering up to 860 Omneo Regio 2N trainsets. Various French regions have now placed orders for a total of 491 Omneo trainsets within this package.
Hauts-de-France intends to deploy the latest build on the busiest routes on its network, in particular those connecting Picardie with the Paris area, and on new services which are to be introduced from 2025 as part of the Picardie-Roissy project.
The region has now ordered a total of 77 Bombardier trainsets from the Omneo double-deck family; 18 seven-car sets were delivered to the former Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in 2014-17, and seven 10-car trainsets were delivered to the former Picardy region in 2017. A batch of 19 inter-city trainsets was ordered in 2018 for delivery in 2022-23 to operate former TET routes being transferred to regional control.
The selection of a common product family is intended to provide operating flexibility and optimise maintenance costs.
‘Those who travel between Amiens, Saint-Quentin and Paris will discover a new style of train travel’, said Laurent Bouyer, President of Bombardier Transportation, France & Benelux. ‘Our engineers have focused on space for the benefit of all travellers, on modern interior equipment, as well as capacity to ensure seating for everyone.’
