French National Railways (SNCF) has awarded a €186m contract to Siemens to deploy a new communication-based train control (CBTC) system on the on the western extension of RER E line in Paris.
SNCF noted that the contract is part of the €3.7bn Eole project to extend Line E westwards to Mantes-la-Jolie, which includes the construction of a new 8km tunnel between Haussmann-Saint-Lazare and Nanterre-La Folie.
The Eole project was designed to accommodate the growing traffic on the Paris commuter rail network and maintain the quality of commuter transport.
Scope of work under the contract will include the upgrade of the existing 47km line between Mantes-la-Jolie and Nanterre and a new 8km tunnel between La Défense and Haussmann Saint-Lazare, which is currently the last stop on the RER E-line.
The Eole project is expected to ease pressure on the saturated A line by 2020 and deliver additional relief by 2022.
The NExTEO system will be installed on the central section of the new E line between Rosa Parks and Nanterre-La-Folie stations to enable more trains to run on the commuter line, allowing increased speeds of up to 120km/h.
The system will operate 22 trains an hour, up from the current rate of 16. Once the Eole project is completed in 2022, NExTEO will run 28 trains an hour, carrying an estimated 620,000 passengers.
The deployment of the new system will be supported by Paris Transport Authority (RATP), which already operates CBTC-type systems on lines 1, 3, 5, 9 and 14 of the Paris metro.
