The contract, which is fully financed by Île-de-France Mobilités, amounts to up to €1.3 billion for the development and supply of up to 1000 cars (183 trains) which will be deployed in two versions of train lengths, 3 and 6 cars.
On 11 July 2018, Île-de-France Mobilités approved a first tranche of €680 million to cover the expenses necessary for the acquisition of the first 53 Grand Paris Express trains.
These new high-capacity rail-running metros will be able to run at up to 110 km/h in driverless automatic mode and will consist of 6-car trains on line 15, and 3 cars on lines 16 and 17.
The first trainsets will leave the factory in 2022 for commercial service by 2024 with an estimated quantity of 23 3-car trainsets for the first runs on line 16 and 30 6-car trainsets for line 15 south.
These trains will be made available to future operators by Île-de-France Mobilités, which will thus have access to new-generation equipment, benefiting from the latest technologies and offering high performance. The travel experience will combine comfort and speed.
For Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Region and Île de France Mobilité: "With air conditioning, video protection, USB sockets, and efficient on-board information tools, these new Île-de-France Mobilités trains will provide users of the next lines of the Île-de-France metro with the high level of comfort and safety that I require on all orders for new equipment, metros but also trains, RER, buses or trams. These metros will also be a marker of the modernity and dynamism of Europe's leading economic region. »
The new metros on lines 15, 16 and 17 are open along the entire length of the trains, giving passengers a feeling of conviviality, space and comfort. Thanks to the 3 wide doors on each side, they allow great fluidity in the entrances and exits, as well as an easier movement of passengers during the journeys. The equipment has been designed to allow a high level of comfort, thanks in particular to air conditioning, lighting and seats. It will also offer connectivity to passengers, thanks to USB charging sockets for mobile phones. Finally, the end structure will offer a panoramic opening with a wide windscreen.
The new metros on lines 15, 16 and 17 will ensure the highest levels of availability, reliability and safety. Each train will be able to carry up to 500 passengers in the 3-car version (54 metres), and up to 1,000 passengers in the 6-car version (108 metres). Particular attention is paid to optimizing maintenance. The on-board diagnostic system will provide information on the condition of the train's equipment and give maintenance personnel a complete view of the state of the fleet, making it easier to plan corrective and predictive maintenance tasks between two commercial departments.
Several innovations will guarantee the environmental performance of this new equipment, an undeniable asset for the operation. The traction and auxiliary converters will benefit from the latest technologies to ensure that energy consumption is optimized. Particular attention is paid to noise emissions, vibrations and atmospheric emissions. Minimisation of brake particle emissions will be achieved through electric braking up to very low speeds, thus limiting the use of brake discs. In addition, the recovery of braking energy will contribute to the recharging of batteries or to the supply of power to the general electricity grid. Finally, the recyclability rate is more than 96%, and the recovery rate of the train, according to the European standards in force, is more than 98%.
In order to carry out this very important project, a total of 350 Alstom employees in France will work on this project, including 150 experienced engineers. More than 1150 jobs will be secured in France in the French rail sector thanks to this project. Six French sites will design and manufacture this new equipment. The Valenciennes Petite-Forêt site will be in charge of project management, studies, development, production, assembly and validation of the trains. Five other Alstom sites in France will develop and produce the components: Le Creusot for the bogies, Ornans for the engines, Tarbes for the traction systems, Villeurbanne for the on-board electronics and the remote maintenance system and Saint Ouen for the design.
Infographic: Alstom logo, Île-de-France mobilités, Société du Grand Paris