NICE Côte d'Azur Metropolis opened the 7km T2 Cadam - Magnan tram line on June 30, with Alstom inaugurating its first new-generation Citadis X05, equipped with a new SRS charging system, at the opening ceremony.

THE French government has agreed to finance up to €250m for the renewal of the rolling stock on the Paris - Amiens - Boulogne and Paris - St Quentin - Maubeuge/Cambrai lines.

ILE-DE-FRANCE Mobility, Paris Transport Authority (RATP) and French National Railways (SNCF) have issued a call for tenders for a contract to supply up to 180 new trains to replace the fleet of MI 79/84 (Z8100/Z8400) EMUs used on Paris RER Line B.

FRENCH infrastructure manager SNCF Network unveiled its new ETCS test train at Nevers Technicentre on June 25.

A report from the European Court of Auditors says the €23.7bn of co-funding that the European Union (EU) has provided to support high-speed rail infrastructure investments since 2000 has created only a “patchwork” of national high-speed lines across the European Union, and failed to create a cohesive European high-speed rail network.

THE German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the French Grand Est region have agreed to deepen cross-border cooperation and on June 19 released a joint concept and tender for cross-border regional rail services to start operation in December 2024.

THALYS announced on June 19 that it will launch direct services between Brussels and Bordeaux next summer, connecting the Belgian capital with the Atlantic coast in little over four hours.

FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) has begun the fleet rollout of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution for monitoring the status of passenger train doors.

THE French Railway Safety Board (ESPF) has granted an authorisation for the operation of the 200km/h variant of Bombardier’s Régio 2N double-deck EMU for operation on the French main line network.