The MI 2N (French: ''Matériel d'Interconnexion à 2 Niveaux'', English: ''two-level interconnection rolling stock'') is a family of double-deck, dual-voltage

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 ...

trainsets that are operated on the

Réseau Express Régional The Réseau Express Régional ( en, Regional Express Network), commonly abbreviated RER (), is a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. It acts as a combined city-centre underground rail system and suburbs-t ...

(RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

system serving

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. Si ...

and its

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

suburbs. There are two variants of the MI 2N that look very similar but feature different motorization and interior layout: * The MI 2N "Altéo" is operated by RATP on the

RER A RER A 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, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from east to west, with all t ...

line. 43 trains or 215 cars were built. * The Class Z 22500 (MI 2N "Eole") is operated by

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...

on 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, France and its suburbs. The RER E line travels between Paris and eastern subur ...

line. 53 trains or 265 cars were built. The trainsets were by a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

manufacturer

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

(at the time known as GEC Alstom) and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

conglomerate Bombardier. The final assembly of the trains was performed at Alstom's

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

factory and Bombardier's Crespin factory between 1995 and 2005. The double-decker trains grew out of an effort to increase capacity on the RER A line, one of the world's busiest routes. These trains could carry up to 2,600 people per train, compared to 1,887 people on the single-deck trains that had been used on the RER A since it opened. These double-deck trains proved so successful and popular, operators of the RER A went on to purchase 140 MI 09 trainsets, an improved version of the MI 2N that would be built by the same Alstom-Bombardier consortium.

External links

MI 2N page on Metro-pole.net
Double-decker EMUs Electric multiple units of France SNCF multiple units {{France-rail-transport-stub