Officials gathered at Gare de Lyon Perrache to present the first Regio 2N double-deck train for the Rhône-Alpes region.
The first Regio 2N will enter service between Villefranche-sur-Saône and Vienna on November 20 before being gradually rolled out across other routes in next year.
In October, SNCF received authorisation from the French Public Establishment of Railway Safety (EPSF) for the commercial operation of Bombardier’s Regio 2N in single units. Bombardier’s Crespin plant is building 40 trains for the region.
France’s national train operator, SNCF, has ordered 159 Regio 2N trains for the French regions as part of a framework contract for up to 860 double-deck trains worth €7 billion.
The first Regio 2N train set was launched by the president of the Aquitaine Regional Council during a ceremony at Bordeaux Saint Jean station on September 15.
The Regio 2N will be built in configurations ranging from six to 10 cars, with the maximum speed of the units varying between 160 km/h and 200 km/h.
