FRANCE: Île-de-France Mobilités has exercised an option to order a further 19 MP14 rubber-tyred trainsets from Alstom for the Paris Metro.
The €132m order announced on July 8 covers 19 five-car units with driving cabs, which are intended to be used by metro operator RATP on Line 11.
It is the fourth order to be confirmed within a €2bn framework contract signed in March 2015 covering the supply of up to 217 trains over 15 years, and will be 100% funded by the regional transport authority.
The initial firm order placed with the framework covered a build of 35 eight-car trainsets for the driverless Line 14. The first of these entered service in October 2020, and around 20 sets are expected to have been delivered by the end of this year.
A first option was exercised in January 2017, covering 20 six-car trains for Line 4, which is currently being modernised and converted to driverless operation. Alstom reports that the first of these units is now on test ahead of delivery.
A tranche of 20 five-car trains with driving cabs was ordered for Line 11 in February 2018, and manufacturing of these vehicles began in the last quarter of 2020. The first trains are scheduled to begin validation tests on RATP tracks this summer, with the Line 11 trains expected to begin entering revenue service before those for Line 4.
According to the manufacturer, the MP14 trainsets feature an interior layout ‘based on the theme of the alcove, creating both hospitality and privacy’. Large vestibule areas offer good accessibility, while boomerang-shaped seats are intended to improve both passenger flow and the overall capacity of the trains. LED lighting is used throughout, while the HVAC is designed to provide a balanced temperature in all seasons. CCTV surveillance and dynamic passenger information systems are also fitted. The trains are equipped with all-electric braking, with full regeneration to minimise energy consumption and cut particle emissions from the mechanical brakes.
Design of the driving cabs for the Line 11 trainsets incorporates feedback on the cab designs of previous trainsets, combined with the latest ergonomic developments, and has been validated by RATP drivers as well as occupational physicians. Alstom estimates that the trains will be around 40% quieter than the rolling stock currently deployed on line 11.
‘With the first MP14 trains entering commercial service on Line 14 in October 2020, Alstom is delighted to have received an additional order for these innovative trains’, said Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, President of Alstom France. ‘The progressive arrival of the MP14 on lines 14, 11, and 4 will directly improve the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of passengers in Paris and the Île-de-France region.’
