The SNCF Class BB 27300 is an

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

. There are 67 BB 27300 locomotives, built as part of the Prima range by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. The first BB 27300 were delivered starting in 2006. Painted in the blue and white livery of Transilien, the brand name for the SNCF network around Paris, these locomotives are the passenger equivalent of the freight-only

SNCF Class BB 27000 The SNCF Class BB 27000 "Prima" electric locomotives were built by Alstom between 2001–2005. These are dual-voltage freight-only locomotives; they are not fitted with a 1500 V DC electrical line for train heating and accessories. One hundr ...

and are equipped for push-pull operation on suburban passenger services in the Île-de-France region around

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, working with refurbished VB2N double-deck carriages.

Technical information

The power of the locomotive is . The locomotive is equipped with a train protection system derived from the contrôle de vitesse par balises system : the KVBP. It is also equipped with two pantographs, one dedicated to the 1500 V direct current, the other to the 25000 V alternating current.

History

The BB 27300 were authorized on the national network of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 2006 by the . #119, p16 and p17

Orders

The first batch of 60 locomotives was ordered in 2004, and following testing of the first two units in 2005, delivered progressively into 2008. Follow-up orders for five and two locomotives respectively were placed. The locomotives are numbered in series from 27301-27367, although the number carried on the locomotive is prefixed with the number 8, to denote the unit as belonging to the Île-de-France division of SNCF.

Usage

The first locomotives entered service in 2006 on suburban trains from Paris Montparnasse railway station. Current deployment sees a total of 25 locomotives operating services from Paris-Montparnasse on trains to

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

Mantes-la-Jolie Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...

and

Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies ...

. At Montparnasse they have displaced older

SNCF Class BB 8500 The SNCF Class BB 8500 class are part of a series of electric locomotives built by Alsthom for SNCF. They are the direct current version of the 25 kV alternating current SNCF BB 17000 and dual system SNCF BB 25500. The locomotives are fitt ...

and BB 25500 locomotives. A further 42 locomotives operate from Paris Saint-Lazare railway station on trains to

Poissy Poissy () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Pisciacais'' in French. Poissy is one of ...

, Mantes-la-Jolie, Pontoise, Gisors, and

Ermont Eaubonne Ermont () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It has around 28,000 inhabitants, which makes Ermont one of the most important cities in Val d'Oise. Ermont ha ...

. At Saint-Lazare BB 8500 and

BB 17000 BB, Bb, or similar, may refer to: In arts and entertainment *BB, abbreviation for a catalogue of works by Béla Bartók * ''BB'' (album), by Mod Sun (2017) *"BB Talk", 2015 song by Miley Cyrus * BB (Transformers), a character in the franchi ...

locomotives have been displaced.

Future

The usage of BB 27300 locomotives on suburban passenger services is a temporary measure. It is expected that sometime after 2015 they will begin to be replaced by new

Electric Multiple Units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

. When this happens, the locomotives are likely to find further use with SNCF's freight subsidiary, SNCF Fret, where they will join the technically similar BB 27000 locomotives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncf Class Bb 27300 Alstom Prima electric locomotives Bo′Bo′ locomotives 27300 1500 V DC locomotives 25 kV AC locomotives Standard gauge electric locomotives of France Railway locomotives introduced in 2004 Multi-system locomotives Passenger locomotives