SNCF received authorization today from the French Public Establishment of Railway Safety (EPSF) for the commercial operation of Bombardier’s Regio 2N in single units. This essential step will allow for the progressive deployment of the first Regio 2N vehicles in the Aquitaine, Brittany, Centre, Nord-Pas de Calais, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’ Azur and Rhône-Alpes regions from November.

The Regio 2N belongs to the new BOMBARDIER*OMNEO* double deck train platform designed by Bombardier teams in Crespin to meet the needs of SNCF and the French regions for seating capacity and service. It offers high modularity in terms of versions and interior configurations and is also fully compliant with the latest accessibility standards. The Regio 2N project also represents more than half of the activity of Bombardier’s site in Crespin, involving 900 direct jobs plus employment at suppliers, the majority of which are French.

“The approval obtained today, the result of six years of joint work between SNCF and Bombardier teams and all partners involved in the process, is the confirmation that our new OMNEO platform meets French and European standards. This is truly the green light from the authorities allowing for the safe transport of passengers in our train,” commented Pierre-Yves Cohen, Vice President of the Regio 2N project at Bombardier. “SNCF and the Regions will now be able to deploy the Regio 2N and improve the journeys of thousands of people who take regional trains daily.”

An intense series of tests

In order to qualify and certify the various configurations of this innovative platform, Bombardier built nine test trains that travelled a total of over 150,000 kilometers. Bombardier teams also performed more than 4,000 tests required to verify compliance with the nearly 10,000 French and European standards covering safe passenger train travel. Test runs for approval of the double and triple Regio 2N train configurations are still ongoing. Authorization for commercial operation of the double unit is expected in the first semester of 2015. This test campaign has mobilized teams at Bombardier, but also at the SNCF, Eurailtest (ERT), the Railway Testing Agency (AEF), Certifer, BelgoRail, Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) and EPSF.

Contract data

Nine French regions have ordered a total of 159 Regio 2N trains under a contract signed in 2010 with SNCF on behalf of the regions, for a maximum of 860 trains. Orders per region are as follows: Aquitaine: 24 trains, Centre: 14 trains, Brittany: 17 trains, Nord-Pas de Calais: 18 trains, Provence- Alpes-Côte d’ Azur: 16 trains, Rhone -Alpes: 40 trains, Picardy: 7 trains, Pays-de-la-Loire: 13 trains, Midi-Pyrenees: 10 trains.