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year, and 10% to 12% of trains not departing,” development of multimodal interchange hubs intervals than we do at present. This is why
admitted Renaud Muselier, President of the and the modernisation of the rail network). the Monegasque government has invested
Southern Region, during his visit to the new In 2023 - 2024, the effort has been doubled 11 million euros to develop this expensive
trains. That’s why the Region did not hesitate (300 million), to finance the development of technology*.
to change the operator as soon as they could, two new TER maintenance workshops in Nice
when the TER opened up to competition. and the purchase of new trains. A Train Every 10 Minutes by 2028?
In its specifications, the new concessionaire This major improvement in rail service will not
Transdev committed to doubling the transport Better Timetabling with ERTMS from the come for another three years. “The project
offer and achieving a 97.5% punctuality rate. End of 2027 is due to start in the Alpes-Maritimes at the
“There will be a train every fifteen minutes In the medium term, the alternative promising end of 2027 and tobbe completed by the end
from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on the Cannes-Nice- prospect lies in the deployment of the European of 2030. This means that by these dates,
Monaco line. This will be the first metropolitan Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), trains will have to be equipped with ERTMS
RER outside Paris!” Renaud Muselier enthused a system that will regulate and improve so that they are ready to run as soon as the
publicly a few months ago, echoing Emmanuel timetabling and frequency on the SNCF new system is launched and the old one
Macron's catch phrase. With 13 metropolitan network. Technically, “ERTMS geolocates trains 'disconnected',” observes Jacques Paulet.
RER projects, the Élysée hopes to kick start in real time. This means that their position and In order to implement this system, existing
the use of public transport with regional speed can be known at all times, optimising trains will have to be modernised to install the
trains running every half-hour, or even every traffic flow. To get the picture, it's as if you right decoders on board, and programmes will
quarter-hour at rush hour, to serve the outskirts had a highly sophisticated speed limiter on have to be launched to acquire new equipment
of major cities. The model? The RER was board, which adapts the train's maximum installed as soon as it is built. “A new signalling
developed in the Paris region under the speed in real time according to traffic and system (ERTMS) is being rolled out between
impetus of Charles de Gaulle, and extended traffic conditions (curves, tunnels, etc.). As an Marseille and Ventimiglia in several phases.
in the 1960s. option, this speed limiter can be supplemented The first phase will cover the eastern part
by a controller which then controls the train's of the region between Théoule-sur-Mer and
A Better Quality Transport Service? optimum speed”, explains the SNCF. ERTMS Ventimiglia. From 2028, it will increase the
The new public service concession contract promises to double the frequency of train runs, frequency of service, with a train every 10
provides for the construction of a maintenance according to project director Jacques Paulet. minutes”, the Southern Region announces.
centre near the Nice station. This should “With the current signalling system, we are It should be noted that ERTMS is also installed
ensure that the trains are available, particularly limited to 5 trains per hour, an amount that in Italy. This will make cross-border journeys
during peak periods. The region is also is not compatible with the increase in traffic. easier: “Eventually, in 2028, the system will
announcing the acquisition of 16 new 400 With this new system, trains run at intervals cross the border, and the two regions, Sud
seat trains with 12 bicycle spaces per train, of between one and a half and two minutes, and Liguria, will be able to envisage more
Wi-Fi access and catering facilities, as well instead of between four and five minutes at extended services without having to change
as video surveillance and a reinforced human present: we're halving the time between two trains at Ventimiglia...”.
presence... It should be noted that the Southern trains running one after the other on the line.
region invests nearly €150 million each year in As a result, we will have more freedom to *The ERTMS European signalling project will mobilise a
the TER (investment in railway equipment, the design timetables and more frequent service total budget of 700 million euros between now and 2030 ...

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