SNCF’s new double-deck regional train platform, Regio 2N, has been approved for single-unit operation by the French safety authority EPSF.
Homologation has followed an “intense” programme of trials, with the nine trains built by Bombardier to carry out testing having completed more than 150,000 kilometres.
Pierre-Yves Cohen, vice president of the Regio 2N project at Bombardier said that the approval was “the result of six years of joint work between SNCF and Bombardier teams”.
Testing is still being completed for double and triple units. Bombardier said it expects to receive authorisation for double-unit commercial services in early 2015.
Nine French regions have ordered 159 Regio 2N trains under a framework contract signed in 2010 with SNCF for a maximum of 860 units.
On September 15, the first Bombardier-built Regio 2N trainset has been launched by the president of the Aquitaine Regional Council during a ceremony at Bordeaux Saint Jean station.
The Regio 2N will be built in configurations ranging from six to 10 cars, with the longer train stretching 135 metres. The maximum speed of the units will also vary between 160 km/h and 200 km/h.
