SNCF has placed an order with Alstom for an additional 15 new generation TGVs to cope with traffic growth and launch trains abroad. The contract for an amount close to 590 million euros, announced this Thursday by the railway manufacturer, refers to a four-stream TGV which, Alstom points out, “corresponds to the needs of European traffic”.
In fact, these new trains will be able to circulate under the different tensions of the rail networks in France and in neighboring countries, which will allow, for example, linking Paris to Berlin or venturing into Italy. As long as their engines can read the different signals.
A complement to a first order of 100 trains
The company confirmed the order to AFP, taken according to her “in anticipation of customer demand higher than initial forecasts.” “It is a decision that accompanies the desire of Jean-Pierre Farandou (director general of SNCF) to double the participation of the railway in passenger transport by the 2030s, in order to achieve the necessary climate transition,” said a spokesman. .
The contract completes an initial order for 100 trains for the French market, placed in 2018 for €2.7 billion, as part of an “innovation partnership” concluded in 2016 between SNCF and Alstom to design the “TGV of the future”.
Since then it has been called the “TGV M” by the railway company and the “Avelia Horizon” by the manufacturer. It costs 20% less than the previous generation, indicate the two parties. The deployment of the “TGV M” will be spread over ten years, starting in 2024, according to SNCF Voyageurs. The delivery date for the 15 additional trains has not been specified.
Respond to an increase in attendance
“This solution responds to SNCF’s technological, economic and competitive challenges, in an environment of strong passenger demand for low-carbon mobility solutions,” Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, president of Alstom France, was quoted as saying in the press release.
In fact, the 360 TGVs currently in service are struggling to keep up with demand this summer, the dramatic spike in attendance making people quickly forget about empty trains during the pandemic. SNCF has even been accused of overhauling its old trains too quickly or sending too many to Spain, where it launched its low-cost Ouigo service last year.
Fourth generation of French-style high-speed trains in 40 years – the first was put into service in 1981 – the “TGV M” should allow the transport of 20% more passengers than current equipment. It will have capacity for 740 people per train in maximum configuration.
A more energy efficient train model
Great novelty, modularity: we can add or remove cars to have more or less long trains, according to needs. SNCF Voyageurs will also be able to change the seating configuration to transform a car from first to second, and vice versa.
This new train must consume 20% less energy than its predecessors thanks to more efficient aerodynamics and motorization. Its designers show 37% less CO2 emissions and 97% recyclable materials. Alstom also promises a 30% saving on maintenance thanks, in particular, to sensors that will allow parts to be changed at the right time.
Its train is assembled in La Rochelle, with ten of the manufacturer’s plants being associated with the project, including Belfort for the manufacture of the motor cars, Ornans (Doubs) for the engines, Tarbes for the traction chain, Le Creusot (Saône- et-Loire) for bogies and Villeurbanne (Lyon metropolis) for on-board computer systems.
Source: BFM TV
