The Voiture de banlieue à 2 niveaux (), shortened to VB2N, is a type of double-deck passenger railcar used on

Transilien Transilien () is the brand name given to the commuter rail and tram-train network operated by SNCF and serving Île-de-France, the region surrounding and including the city of Paris. The network consists of lines Transilien Line H, H, Transilie ...

, the

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

network in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The cars are unpowered and designed to be paired with an electric locomotive. The coaches, built from 1974, are the successors of the Chemins de Fer de l'État's 1933 built Voiture État à 2 étages. They are currently in use on Line J of the Transilien network. They were previously used on RER lines C and D, Transilien lines H and K as well as services between

Gare de l'Est The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris Est, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Ga ...

and

Tournan station Tournan station () is a hub in the French transport network enabling travellers to reach the region around Tournan-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France). This place provides an easy connection to other forms of road transport. It is a railway s ...

, which became the

RER E RER E is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. The line travels between western and eastern suburbs, with all ...

. Since 2012, the VB 2N trains have been shifted from busier RER and Transilien lines to less busy routes on Transilien network as new equipment comes online, most notably the single-level Z 50000 and double-deck

Regio 2N The Regio 2N is family of a Bilevel rail car, double-deck, Multi-system (rail), dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainsets built for France, French rail operator SNCF to serve its regional rail routes (Transport express régional, TER, Transil ...

(Z 57000) trainsets. The VB 2N trains are scheduled to be retired.

Description

The VB 2Ns are designed to be used in push-pull mode, although the cars are not powered, there is a

control car A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK, Ireland, Australia and India) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or t ...

at one end of the train so that the

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

does not have to run around its train at the terminus. Passenger space is divided in two levels. Each end of coach is a vestibule from which two separate sets of stairs lead to the upper and lower-decks. The walkway and seating on the lower deck is situated below platform level to gain space and avoid unnecessary height. The upper-deck is relatively spacious as height is restricted although adults may walk standing up. All coaches have toilets apart from both end carriages. Next stop is announced vocally and visually. Speed is limited to .

Retirement

The VB 2N equipment was retired starting in 2019, as

Île-de-France Mobilités Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is the governmental authority ( EPA) that controls and coordinates the different companies operating the Paris-area public transport network and the rest of the Île-de-France region. In this capacity, it issu ...

and

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

replaced them with newer equipment. Since early 2019, the VB 2N trains on the

Transilien Line J Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare Saint-Lazare in central Paris and serve the north and north-west of Île-de-France region with Transilien ...

are gradually being replaced by the Z 50000 "Francilian" single-level

electric multiple unit 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 o ...

(EMU) trainsets. Starting in 2021, the VB 2N trains on the

Transilien Line N Transilien Line N is a railway line of the Paris Transilien suburban rail network operated by the SNCF. The trains on this line travel between Gare Montparnasse in Paris and the west of Île-de-France region, with termini in Rambouillet, Dreux ...

are scheduled to be replaced by new

(Z 57000) double-deck EMU trainsets. Additionally, starting in 2022, some of the Transilien Line J traffic between Paris and Mantes-la-Jolie will be shifted to an extension of the RER E line which will be equipped with Z 58000 " RER NG" double-deck EMU trainsets.

Derivatives

Two other series of French trainsets were derived from the VB 2N: * Voiture Omnibus à 2 Niveaux (VO 2N): used on TER (regional express train) routes in the

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...

and Normandie regions. * Voiture Régionale à 2 Niveaux (VR 2N): used on TER routes in the

Nord-Pas-De-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

region.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voiture De Banlieue A 2 Niveaux SNCF coaching stock Double-decker rail vehicles