The Paris Transport Authority (RATP) has launched the MI09 double-decker electric multiple-units (EMUs) into passenger service on Paris RER Line A.
A consortium of Alstom and Bombardier has delivered the first tranche of 60 trainsets under a contract signed in 2009.
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The original deal with transport authority STIF and transport operator RATP was to supply about 130 units in a €917m deal, which also includes electrical equipment, bogies and endcars.
The five-car units have been in service, following certification testing with three MI09 trainsets, since February, and Alstom unveiled the first trainset of the RER A MI09 in the same month.
The trainsets will run on the RER A line and will replace the MI84 single-decker trains currently in operation, which are considered to have the lowest capacity of the three types of rolling stock currently running on Line A.
The double-decker trainsets can carry more than one million passengers per day and run at speeds of about 120km/h, Alstom said.
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By GlobalDataThe 110m-long trainset has five cars equipped with three wide doors on each side to facilitate loading and unloading.
Alstom claimed the improved acceleration and braking performance of the MI09 will allow frequencies to be increased on Line A, where the EMUs will replace single-decker MI84 trains, boosting capacity by 30%.
The trains will be equipped with a video protection system and LCD screens to provide passengers with information about their destination, the stations served and connections.
The trains have areas reserved for people with reduced mobility, and a Wi-Fi train-ground connection will be used to transmit the train’s operating parameters and to plan for maintenance operations, in a bid to ensure efficient service.
The consortium will deliver the MI09 at a rate of 24 trainsets per year until 2014, and the second batch of 70 trains will be delivered in 2014-17 to replace the MS61 fleet.
