Pays de la Loire has become the latest French region to celebrate the arrival of its first Régiolis regional train.
On November 18, the first of 20 trains ordered from Alstom by the region was presented by officials at the SNCF Technicentre in Nantes.
SNCF, in partnership with 12 French regions, has so far ordered 184 Régiolis trains for regional TER services. In total, 216 Coradia Polyvalent train sets have been purchased, including 34 Coradia Liner vehicles procured for the renewal of SNCF Intercity trains.
The first Régiolis entered passenger service in the Aquitaine region in April 2014. By the end of 2014, 50 trains will be delivered to the regions of Alsace, Aquitaine, Basse Normandie, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Pays de la Loire, Picardie, Poitou-Charentes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
Pays de la Loire has ordered 10 dual-mode and 10 diesel units.
The Régiolis is approved for a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h, however, Alstom has indicated that speeds of 200 km/h would be possible on the four and three-car units.
SNCF employees will be trained on the Régiolis during November and December ahead of the new train entering service in January.
