Alstom to supply Coradia Liners to SNCF
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefSNCF has ordered 34 Coradia Liner trainsets, the latest generation of long-haul trains from Alstom, as part of a project initiated by the French Prime Minister to renew Corail intercity trains. The order is worth $474 million. The trainsets are expected to enter into service beginning December 2015.
The Coradia Liner, a long-haul train, is classed between a regional train (TER) and a high speed train (TGV). “It was designed to provide intercity lines with a specific identity, and more comfort and services with improved performance,” Alstom said. In its current configuration, the trainset can carry up to 267 passengers.
“The Coradia Liner matches exactly the SNCF’s performance, comfort, and service requirements,” Astom said. “It is fully accessible thanks to platform-level boarding. Onboard passenger traffic is made much smoother thanks to spacious passenger areas perfectly suited to long-haul journeys. New seats feature upholstered armrests, a power socket, and a coat hanger. The floor is coated with special material to reduce ambient sound. Large bay windows and indirect interior lighting reinforce the feeling of comfort for passengers. The design of this new long-haul train, specified in advance by SNCF, allows the company to offer a host of on-board services to its passengers.
“Innovative technical solutions will enable the Coradia Liner to reduce travel time on long-haul trips. Large gangways and platforms optimize boarding times. Thanks to distributed power throughout the train, acceleration and braking capacity are improved. The Coradia Liner is an economical train. Lighter than the previous generation of long-haul trains, it will use significantly less energy and its architecture has been designed to facilitate maintenance operations. It is bimodal (electric and diesel) and complies with all current European standards. It can operate on all tracks in the conventional network.”
The Coradia Liner belongs to Alstom’s Coradia range of modular trainsets, first developed about 30 years ago. More than 3,000 Coradia trains are currently in service and have traveled more than 2.5 billion miles in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Six of the ten Alstom facilities located in France will be involved in the Coradia Liner project: Reichshoffen (design and assembly), Ornans (engines), Le Creusot (bogies), Tarbes (traction systems), Villeurbanne (on-board computers), and Saint-Ouen (design).
