The Régiolis is a category of

multiple unit A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

train built by

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

coming from the Coradia family. The first train was presented on July 4, 2013, in Aquitaine, and the first commissioning took place on April 22, 2014, on the TER Aquitaine network, more than a year behind the initial schedule.

History

In the 2000s, the delivery of several hundred new trains, X TER, A TER, AGC, or

TER 2N NG Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob S ...

provided significant modernizations of the regional electrical and diesel fleet. However, in the early 2010s, old types of rolling stock dating from the 1970s and 1980s continued to operate, it became necessary to continue the renewal and growth of the fleet during the period 2013–2022 due increasing TER network usage. This desire manifested itself with a call for tenders from

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 ...

, for the design of a new type of train, the "versatile carrier" ("porteur polyvalent" in French). Following the

Grenelle Environnement The Grenelle de l'environnement was an open multi-party debate that took place in France in the summer and fall of 2007 to define key points of public policy on environmental and sustainable development over the following five-year period. Bringin ...

and the successful usage of AGC dual-mode equipment, this equipment must not only have a diesel version, but electrical and dual-mode versions, to avoid any usage of the diesel engines where overhead catenary is available.Olivier Constant, ''Les automotrices bicourant et les trams-trains'', dans ''Le Train'', p.81. While

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

won a few years ago the contract for 700 AGC trains for the

TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...

won the contract this time, allowing the manufacturer to manufacture new equipment for French regional traffic. The imagined train, the Régiolis, is offered in electric and dual-mode-bicurrent version, allowing these trains to run on the entire French normal-gauge network, like the B 82500 of the competing manufacturer Bombardier. In addition, a tricurrent version with 15 kV at a frequency of 16.7 Hz is also available, allowing cross-border services to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The Régiolis is presented as "a modular train that knows how to do everything" and proposed in three versions with three, four or six coaches, and three types of development, peri-urban, regional or intercity. Like the manufacturer's AGV, or Bombardier

Z 50000 The SNCF Class Z 50000, also known as the 'Francilian', or 'NAT' (for , English: ''New Rail car Transilien'', the project name) is a type of dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset designed in the 2000s. It is used on the commuter rail syst ...

and Regio 2N, the train is designed with an articulated architecture, with the bogies arranged between the cars.

Operators and Routes

Intercités

* Nantes – Bordeaux * Nantes – Lyon * Paris – Granville *

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

–

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

–

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

via Le Cévenol *

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

–

Montluçon Montluçon (; ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ''Montluçonna ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

–

Hendaye Hendaye (; Basque: ''Hendaia'',HENDAIA
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

– Ussel * Bordeaux –

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

TER

TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

–

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

* Clermont-Ferrand – Moulins – Nevers * Clermont-Ferrand – Vic-le-Comte * Clermont-Ferrand – Thiers * Clermont-Ferrand – Gannat * Clermont-Ferrand – Brioude

= Léman Express

= * L1 :

Coppet Coppet is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Nyon (district), Nyon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as ''Copetum''. In 1347 it was mentioned a ...

–

Genève Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...

–

Annemasse Annemasse (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Anemâsse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Eastern France. Even though it covers a relativ ...

–

Thonon Thonon-les-Bains (; ), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a ...

– Évian * L2 : Coppet – Genève – Annemasse – La Roche-sur-Foron –

Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...

* L3 : Coppet – Genève – Annemasse – La Roche-sur-Foron – Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet * L4 : Coppet – Genève – Annemasse * L5 : Genève – La Plaine * L6 : Genève – Bellegarde

TCR Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

* Dijon-Ville – Dole – Besançon-Viotte * Besançon-Viotte –

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

– Besançon-Viotte – Lons-le-Saunier –

Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ancient Provinces of France, province of Bresse (). I ...

–

Lyon-Part-Dieu The Gare de la Part-Dieu (; "Property of God railway station") or Lyon-Part-Dieu is the primary railway station of Lyon, France, located in its La Part-Dieu business district. It is on the historical Paris–Marseille railway. Train services ...

TER Centre-Val de Loire

–

TER Grand Est

= TER Alsace

= *

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

–

Molsheim Molsheim (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.Barr Barr may refer to: Places * Barr (placename element), element of place names meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier' * Barr, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Barr Building (Washington, DC), listed on the US National Register of Historic Places ...

– Saint-Dié-des-Vosges * Strasbourg – Bischwiller – Haguenau ( – Soultz-sous-Forêts – Wissembourg) *

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

–

Bâle Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

* Colmar – Metzeral * Strasbourg – Mulhouse * Strasbourg – Sarreguemines * Strasbourg – Nancy / Metz * Strasbourg – Roeschwoog / Gare de Lauterbourg

= TER Lorraine

= *

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

– Saint-Dié * Nancy – Pont-St-Vincent – Contrexéville – Culmont-Chalindrey * Nancy – Épinal –

* Nancy – Épinal – Remiremont * Nancy –

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German : ''Lünstadt'' ; Lorrain: ''Leneinvile'') is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Ve ...

– Saint-Dié

TER Hauts-de-France

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

– Laon * Paris-Nord – Amiens – Boulogne * Paris-Nord – Laon * Amiens – Paris-Nord * Amiens – Lille-Flandres * Amiens – Calais-Ville

TER Normandie

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

–

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

TER New Aquitaine

* Bordeaux-Saint-Jean –

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

* Bordeaux-Saint-Jean – Langon * Bordeaux-Saint-Jean –

Hendaye Hendaye (; Basque: ''Hendaia'',HENDAIA
Pau * Bordeaux-Saint-Jean –

Coutras Coutras () is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Coutras station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Angoulême, Périgueux, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges. History The Battle of Coutras, one of th ...

* Bordeaux-Saint-Jean – Libourne – Coutras – Angouleme *

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

– Hendaye *

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

–

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

* La Rochelle – Bordeaux-Saint-Jean * Bordeaux-Saint-Jean –

* Bordeaux-Saint-Jean – Ussel

TER Occitanie

–

* Toulouse –

Carmaux Carmaux (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in southern France. Industries The Compagnie minière de Carmaux has its origins in a coal mining concession granted in 1852 to Gabrie ...

* Toulouse –

Rodez Rodez (, , ; , ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the communau ...

* Toulouse – Mazamet * Toulouse – Latour-de-Carol – Enveitg * Toulouse – Pau * Toulouse – Auch * Toulouse – Avignon-Centre * Toulouse – Brive-la-Gaillarde.

TER Pays de la Loire

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

–

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

* Nantes –

Cholet Cholet (, probably from Latin ''cauletum'', "cabbage") is a commune of western France, in the Maine-et-Loire department. With 54,307 inhabitants (2019), it is the second most populous commune of Maine-et-Loire, after the prefecture, Angers. ...

* Cholet – Angers * Nantes –

TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

* Avignon-TGV – Avignon-Centre *

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

–

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

– Avignon-Centre *

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

–

* Marseille-Saint-Charles –

Miramas Miramas (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southern France. It is the second-largest commune in metropolitan Ouest-Provence and is located at the north end of the Étang de Berre ...

via Port-de-Bouc

Senegal

15 Trains Dakar – Airport

Future Operators and Routes

CDG Express

The region Ile-de-France has not made orders for Regiolis trains. However, a link located only in this region, will operate by 2024 a dozen trains, specially designed for airport connections. These trains will be operated on the Charles de Gaulle Express, a new line directly connecting the

Gare de Paris-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 ...

to terminal 2 of the Paris Charles de Gaulle. These trains will be operated by a joint venture of

Keolis Keolis is a French transportation company that operates public transport systems all over the world. It manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus, and funicular services. B ...

(subsidiary of the SNCF) and the RATP. * Paris Gare de-Est –

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...

Manufacturing and testing

On December 1, 2011, three workers making adjustments on Alstom's private test track in Tronville-en-Barrois (

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

) were killed by a train under test. This railway test center tests all Régiolis trains. This train is manufactured at several Alstom sites: * Design: Saint-Ouen * Design and assembly:

Reichshoffen Reichshoffen (, or ; ; Alsatian: ''Risshoffe'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Église Saint-Michel de Reichshoffen was built in 1772. Economy Reichshoffen is home to CAF Reichshoffen railcar ...

* Engines:

Ornans Ornans () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune Bonnevaux-le-Prieuré was merged into Ornans.Le Creusot Le Creusot () is a Communes of France, commune and industrial town in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerl ...

* Traction chains:

* Embedded computing:

Villeurbanne Villeurbanne (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is situated northeast of Lyon, with which it forms the heart of the second-largest metropolitan area in France ...

The Régiolis received approval for commercial operation, issued by the EPSF in March 2014. The first trains circulated in April 2014 in

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

and

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. The width of Regiolis and Regio 2N is incompatible with the gauge available in a number of stations. About 1,300 edges of platforms have had to be retouched to clear a few extra centimeters, to allow the passage of these new trains. The cost of this operation is estimated at 50 million euros. While this kind of minimal adaptations of infrastructure to new equipment is routine, the lack of anticipation and the fear of higher prices raised controversy in May 2014. The first Régiolis, a Z 51500 four car, was introduced into commercial service more than a year behind the initial forecasts on April 22, 2014, in Aquitaine, on the Bordeaux–Agen route. The same day,

put into commercial service its first two-mode regional train B 84500 between Nancy and

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (; , before 1999: ''Saint-Dié'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges department, Grand Est, northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Saint-Dié is locat ...

. Finally, six days later, on April 28, Alsace put into service a bi-mode element peri-urban B 83500 between

and

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As o ...

. A month later, May 26, it was the turn of Picardy to introduce its first B 84500 on the Paris-Nord – Laon route.

Incident

As of May 7, 2018, all Regiolis (and Coradia Liner) trainsets are limited to the speed of the "V140" craft (imposing a speed limit of 140 km/h, as well as other speed reductions on certain portions). line). Indeed, during tests carried out in April, it was found, at 160 km/h, that the emergency braking distances exceeded those which allowed the approval of this type of equipment. This restriction, caused by premature aging of the brake linings which will therefore have to be replaced, should be lifted in October of the same year.

References

External links

Former official website

SNCF – Déploiement 2014-2015 du Régiolis
{{SNCF units SNCF multiple units Alstom multiple units Electric multiple units of France Diesel multiple units of France Hybrid multiple units of France 25 kV AC multiple units 15 kV AC multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of France Train-related introductions in 2013