Alstom presented the first Régiolis train for the Poitou-Charentes region to elected representatives of the Technicentre in Saintes on Dec. 4. 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 10 trains on order will enhance the comfort of passengers on regional journeys between Poitiers, Saintes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux. During December, SNCF staff in the Poitou-Charentes region will receive training for the new train, which is scheduled to enter commercial service in January.
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.
To date, 184 Régiolis trains have been ordered by 12 French regions. The French government, the organising authority for regional TET (Trains d’Equilibre 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.
