New brake lining technology from US railway supplier Wabtec will soon be fitted to RER trains in Paris, its first commercial deployment.
The OEM said its “Green Friction braking solution” is “ready” to be fitted to RER A rolling stock, which operates in Paris and the surrounding Île de France, crossing the city East-West from Cergy Le Haut to Marne-la-Vallée Chessy via Gare de Lyon.
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The new tool is designed to cut down on particulate matter emissions from the brakes, which causes air quality issues and health concerns in tunnels and metro stations.
The linings, and “unique range of materials” Wabtec said it manufactures them from, have been tested for a year in partnership with RATP and Île-de-France Mobilités.
The company claimed its testing showed up to 90% reduction in emissions from the MI09 trains’ braking systems.
“The solution covered over a million kilometres of testing and demonstrated the capability to reduce emissions from the train braking by an average of 70%, up to 90%,” Wabtec said.
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By GlobalData“Green Friction tackles the source of the fine particle problem. Today, Wabtec is the only company in the rail industry offering operational, rapidly deployable and cost-effective equipment to reduce pollution levels linked to braking,” said Philippe Nogues-Cubelles, Wabtec’s vice president for Friction.
The US corporation said it had received interest in the product from other metro systems in France, and unnamed countries across Europe and Asia.
