On Tuesday 16 December at the Saint-Denis Porte de Paris station, the Alstom Citadis tram entered service on line 8 of the Ile-de-France tram network, linking Saint-Denis with Epinay-sur-Seine and Villetaneuse.

This new service is a result of the contract between RATP and Alstom, signed in 2010, for the supply of 19 trams for line T72 , with an option on 20 trams for line T8. This option was exercised in April 2013. The trams for the Ile-de-France region are financed by STIF. The line serves 17 stations and covers a distance of more than 8 kilometres. It improves transport services to the north-western Seine-Saint-Denis area and provides easier access to centres of learning and business parks.

“Since the Citadis is modular, Alstom has been able to offer RATP and STIF a product with a personalised design, both for the exterior and the interior of the trams. These integrate our latest improvements in terms of accessibility – wider seats and door control buttons more suited to people with reduced mobility,” said Ana Giros, Managing Director of Alstom Transport France.

At 32 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, the Citadis T8 trams can each hold around 200 passengers, the equivalent of more than 3 bus loads. Citadis offers optimum on-board comfort, with low flooring throughout, air conditioning, CCTV, a passenger counting system and audio and visual passenger information. Being up to 90% recyclable, Citadis also helps protect the environment.

The operator of the line, RATP, will have the benefit of tried, tested and proven equipment, the performance of which has become a benchmark in the sector. To date, orders have been placed for more than 1,800 Citadis trams, by 47 towns and cities worldwide.

Just like the 19 trams on line T7 of the tram network, which have been in service since November 2013, the T8 trams have been made in Alstom factories in France: La Rochelle for the design and assembly, Ornans for the engines, Le Creusot for the bogies, Tarbes for the traction chain elements and Villeurbanne for the embedded electronics.