FRENCH secretary of state for transport Mr Alain Vidalies unveiled plans to revive the country's loss-making network of conventional long-distance services on July 7, pledging investment in rolling stock, enhanced services, and a new contract between the government and SNCF Mobility.
THE French city of Caen has awarded a contract to provide design and project management services for its planned light rail network to ASyAS, a consortium of French companies Artélia, Setec, Attica, and Signes.
THE French region of Rhône-Alpes has placed a €160m order with Alstom for 17 multi-system Régiolis EMUs, which will be used on the cross-border Leman Express (formerly Franco-Valdo-Genevois RER) network around Geneva.
AFTER 31 years of service, the operation of mail trains on the French high-speed network ceased on June 27, when a postal TGV made a final run between the terminals at Cavaillon in Marseilles and Charolais near Paris Gare du Lyon.
SNCF CEO Mr Guillaume Pepy and the mayor of Paris Ms Anne Hidalgo presented plans on June 24 to expand capacity at Gare du Nord, Paris' busiest station which is used by up to 800,000 passengers per day.
A taskforce set up to develop a strategy for the future of France's loss-making conventional long-distance trains published its first report at the end of May. Keith Barrow explores the options being put forward to revive the "weak link between TGV and TER."
THE board of Ile-de-France transport authority Stif adopted a financing agreement on June 15 which will fully fund a €63m order for 17 additional Alstom Citadis LRVs for Paris light rail Line T3 to support the extension of the line and increase capacity on the existing route.
FRENCH rail regulator Araf and its British counterpart, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), took over responsibility for regulating conditions of access and infrastructure charges for the Channel Tunnel on June 16, when a bi-national committee of the two organisations held its first meeting in London.
Think of urban rail investment in Paris and the ambitious Grand Paris express metro project probably springs to mind. However, a rolling programme of light rail construction is continually extending the tram network into more areas of the city. Keith Barrow outlines the next phase of development.
THE president of Ile-de-France region Mr Jean-François Carenco, mayor of Paris Mrs Anne Hidalgo, and the newly-appointed president executive director of Paris Transport Authority (RATP) Mrs Elisabeth Borne, attended a ceremony on June 1 to mark the start of preliminary works on the eastern extension of Paris metro Line 11 from Mairie des Lilas to Rosny-Bois-Perrier.
