The worldwide trend from diesel to battery-powered rail vehicles has now also reached France. The French state railway has announced that in cooperation with the manufacturer Bombardier Transportation, a total of five existing AGC (Autorail à grande capacité) diesel multiple units (DMU’s) will be converted into battery vehicles. Five regions will be involved: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The so-called “TER à batteries” (approximately battery regional transport) aims to convert a total of five existing diesel-electric railcars. The commissioning is already planned for 2023.
The project has a total investment volume of 38 million euros. The five regions are each contributing €5.4 million, SNCF €6 million and Bombardier €5.5 million. The conversion of the first vehicle will take place at the end of 2021 at Bombardier’s French plant in Crespin (in Hauts de France, northern France). The type test and validation of the first vehicle is planned for 2022, so that passenger service can begin in 2023. The conversion of the remaining four vehicles will thus take place in parallel. The deployment is planned on the following lines: