Alstom, CAF, SNCF and four French regions have been developing the trimodal “TER Hybride” train for several years. Since April 2023, tests have been ongoing on regional lines around Toulouse, a vital condition for the approval of these units. Now it is up to the French authority, EPSF, to issue the documentation so that the hybridised trainsets, named Régiolis at SNCF, could start the real operation.
The aim of the hybridisation project is the reduction of emissions from trains’ operation. They gather energy from regenerative braking into lithium-ion batteries, using it for acceleration. In addition to the already existing option for these units to operate under catenary systems, it will make these units more ecological. Depending on the route, the energy saving is around 20%.
Since the project started in 2018, Alstom has divested the Coradia Polyvalent platform due to European Commission’s condition resulting from the merger with Bombardier Transportation. The new platform owner, CAF, continued to develop the project in close cooperation with Alstom.
New trains should start circulation in the Occitanie region at the end of 2023 on the routes connecting Toulouse with Mazamet and Rodes. In 2024, the remaining three French regions financially participating in the development of this project will join: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Grand Est, and Centre-Val de Loire.
During the presentation at the Occitanie Technicentre on 14.6.2023, Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée Region and the president of ‘Régions de France’, said: “Tomorrow, we’ll be going even further, as Montréjeau – Luchon will be the first line to run entirely on hydrogen-powered trains by 2025/26.“
Around 300 Régiolis (Coradia Polyvalent) trains, which operate in France, are made domestically at the Reichshoffen manufacturing plant. This has been transferred from Alstom to CAF in August 2022.
