Alstom delivers the first Régiolis train to the Poitou-Charentes region of France

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Alstom presented the first Régiolis train for the Poitou-Charentes region to elected representatives of the Technicentre in Saintes on 4 December. Attending the event were Jean-François Macaire, President of the Poitou-Charentes region, Stéphane Lambert Deputy Regional Director of the SNCF and Ana Giros Calpe, Senior Vice-President for Alstom Transport France. The ten trains on order will enhance the comfort of passengers on regional journeys between Poitiers, Saintes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux. During December 2014, SNCF staff in the Poitou-Charentes region will receive training for the new train, which is scheduled to enter commercial service in January 2015.

The trains are 72 metres in length, with a capacity for up to 217 seated passengers in four carriages. The trains are dual mode (electric and diesel), making them extremely flexible to operate, as they can travel on electrified and non-electrified networks.

Régiolis offers unrivalled on-board passenger comfort for regional lines, offering seats fitted with individual reading lights and electric sockets, as well as space reserved for bicycles and luggage. The quality of the journey is also improved thanks to the large windows and reduced noise levels. Low floors throughout guarantee accessibility to all, making this the first train to meet the new TSI-PRM standard¹. The wide corridors and passageways between carriages make it easier for passengers to move about inside the train.

Régiolis trains are part of Alstom's Coradia range. This range is modular and capable of adapting to the needs of each organising authority. It is available in several lengths (three for the Régiolis regional version: 56, 72 or 110m); it can be adapted to suit various types of operation:  suburban, regional and inter-city for Régiolis and main-line operations for the Coradia Liner version - and it provides a level of comfort adapted to its passengers, even on long journeys. Régiolis is both ecological and economical, thanks to its low energy consumption, its adherence to the latest standards in terms of its emissions when operating in thermal mode and its lower maintenance costs.

To date, 184 Régiolis trains have been ordered by 12 French regions. The French government, the organising authority for regional TET (Trains dEquilibre du Territoire) trains, has also ordered 34 Coradia Liner trains, the main-line version of Régiolis which is based on the same technological platform. This brings the total number of trains ordered, as part of the framework contract for 1000 trains awarded to Alstom by the SNCF in 2009, to 218.

The first Régiolis trains entered commercial service in April 2014. By the end of 2014, some 50 trains will have been delivered to the Alsace, Aquitaine, Lower Normandy, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions.

The manufacture of Régiolis trains has generated more than 4,000 jobs in France, at Alstom and its suppliers. Six of the 12 Alstom sites in France are involved in the project: Reichshoffen for the design and assembly, Ornans for the engines, Le Creusot for the bogies, Tarbes for the traction chains, Villeurbanne for the on-board IT systems and Saint-Ouen for the design. 

[1] Technical specification for interoperability for Persons with Reduced Mobility