Île-de-France Mobilités has announced a EUR 4 billion investment by 2035 to improve travel conditions on Paris RER C line, one of the most important and longest (176 km) in the public transport network.
The authority says that passengers using this connection faced drop of performance in the last months, with trains recording less than 90% punctuality, below the expectations set by the contract between Île-de-France Mobilités and SNCF Réseau.
The project is based on three improvement components covering the renewal of the rolling stock operating the line to deliver modern and more comfortable and efficient trains; the modernisation and improvement of the existing infrastructure and adaption to travel demand and service provision.
By 2033, Île-de-France Mobilités will introduce new trains to replace the existing fleet, a programme which will begin once the infrastructure adaptation and modernisation work is completed. Works to accommodate the new vehicles include raising platforms as well as modernising the electrical power systems.
The modernisation of RER C line in the Val d’Orge territory will facilitate the management of the entire traffic as well as the interventions in case of problems and failures, will allow the introduction of new rolling stock and increasing the number of trains between Juvisy and Brétigny-sur-Orge
The delivery of the new trains will be accompanied by two new maintenance workshops for RER C line in Brétigny-sur-Orge and Gennevilliers as well as the renovation of the Ardoines workshop. These facilities will optimally accommodate the new trains and will improve capacity and mobility demand as they will respond to an incident by quickly restoring traffic.
By improving the adaptation capacity of a line, it is possible to reduce the impact of an incident on the rest of the traffic and thus not disrupt general traffic, a concrete solution that can be implemented once the modernisation work is completed, by 2030. This work will notably improve the turning capacity of trains creating the possibility of sending a train in the other direction to streamline traffic in the event of incidents.
Paris RER C line is used daily by 540,000 passengers and the improvement project is part of a master plan to improve passenger transport, reduce the number of incidents, provide increased punctuality and quality. The modernisation of the line will meet transport demand while considering the master plan carried out in collaboration with local authorities and passenger associations.
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