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    1. Rail

    Bombardier Presents the First Car Body of the Regio 2N 16 Months after the SNCF Placed an Order on Behalf of the French Regions

    March 18, 2014
    With the Regio 2N, Bombardier reinvents the double-deck train: it has more capacity, more comfort, and greater modularity for long and short trips.
    Related To: Bombardier Transportation

    Bombardier presented the body of the first Regio 2N car body to the SNCF and representatives of the regions today. The event, at the company?s Crespin site in Northern France, launched the start of Regio 2N production.

    Bombardier has designed this brand new double-deck product platform to meet the specific wishes of the regions. The Regio 2N places a high priority on space and comfort for passengers, while addressing demands for modularity, accessibility and low energy consumption.

    Sixteen months after contract signature, assembly lines are in place and production has begun. The regions have selected the interior colour schemes, and Bombardier and SNCF are about to approve the technical and functional design of the whole train.

    At the Crespin site, the Regio 2N train is shaping up

    Behind the scenes of the Regio 2N project, guests discovered novel initiatives and installations, the results of Bombardier?s investment in executing this new train concept during the design and industrialisation phases. Several full size mock-ups have been used to facilitate interior design and layout approval. These have allowed Bombardier to take into account feedback from users, drivers and passengers at an early stage.

    The Regio 2N TrainLab (LaboTrain) is a complete integration bench for functional testing of electrical and electronics systems (train information networks and connected systems of the train). It will commence operation two years before first train commercial commissioning. Crespin teams will be able to use this genuine representative platform until at least 2015, to monitor the commissioning until the end of the warranty period of the first trains.

    "The Regio 2N is the first double-deck platform which meets the diverse needs of transportation authorities. It offers versions tailored to commuter and intercity services, as well as a 200 km/h version," explained Jean Bergé, president of Bombardier Transportation France.

    "Only 16 months after the project launch, Bombardier teams are in the "starting blocks", ready to begin producing the first test train, which is due to be racked at the end of December. We have managed to reach this stage thanks to the excellent cooperation with the SNCF, the representatives from the Regions and Bombardier teams. I thank them all sincerely," said Pierre Yves Cohen, Bombardier project director.

    Discussion on Innovation in the Rail Transportation Sector

    During a round table discussion, Jean Michel Bodin, vice president in charge of transport from the centre regional council, who represents the Association of French Regions, exchanged views on the issue of innovation in the rail industry with Claude Solard, SNCF regions and intercity general director, Bombardier's Jean Bergé and Benoit Gachet, product director.

    Key data on the Regio 2N Contract

    Following the Regio 2N contract signed on Feb. 24, 2010, SNCF placed a firm order for 80 double-deck electrical multiple units (EMU). The contract contemplates the design and manufacture of a maximum of 860 units. A further 49 trains were ordered in March 2010, as part of a contract option.

    To date, six regions have ordered a total of 129 Regio 2N trains: Aquitaine (24), Brittany (17), Centre (14), Nord-Pas de Calais (18), Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (16), and Rhône- Alpes (40). Bombardier's Crespin site (Nord-Pas de Calais/Northern France) will be able to produce up to 60 trains per year. First deliveries will start in June 2013. All 129 trains ordered so far will be delivered by mid 2016.

    Bombardiertransportation 10065306