Altéo
The MI 2N "Altéo" (French: Matériel d'Interconnexion à 2 Niveaux, English: two-level interconnection rolling stock), also known as the Class Z 1500 is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that is operated on line A of the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system serving Paris and its Île-de-France suburbs. The trains are RATPs version of the MI 2N and looks similar to the other variant, the SNCF Class Z 22500 (MI 2N "Eole") trains, but each features different motorization and interior layout.
| MI 2N "Altéo" (Class Z 1500) | |
|---|---|
MI 2N "Altéo" departing the Houilles–Carrières-sur-Seine station on the RER A line. | |
| In service | 1997–present |
| Manufacturer | GEC Alsthom and ANF |
| Family name | MI 2N, X'Trapolis |
| Constructed | 1995–2005 |
| Entered service | 1996 |
| Refurbished | 2019–2021 (expected) |
| Number in service | 43 trainsets (215 cars) |
| Formation | 5 cars per trainset (R+M+M+M+R) |
| Fleet numbers | Z 1501/2 - Z 1585/6 |
| Operators | RATP |
| Depots |
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| Lines served | |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless steel |
| Train length | 112 m (367 ft 5 in) |
| Car length | 22 m (72 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) |
| Height | 4.32 m (14 ft 2 in) |
| Doors | 2 × 3 per car |
| Maximum speed | 120 km/h (75 mph) |
| Weight | 288 t (283 long tons; 317 short tons) |
| Traction system | GEC Alstom GTO CSI |
| Traction motors | 12 × 325 kW (436 hp) 4 FXA 3561 asynchronous, 550 V, force ventilated |
| Power output | 3,900 kW (5,230 hp) |
| Acceleration | 1.1 m/s2 (3.6 ft/s2) |
| Deceleration |
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| Electric system(s) | |
| Current collector(s) | Pantograph (type AX 25) |
| UIC classification | 2′2′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′+2′2′ |
| Braking system(s) | Regenerative, disc and electrodynamic Eddy current brake |
| Safety system(s) | SACEM |
| Coupling system | Scharfenberg type |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The 43 five-car trains were built by a consortium of French manufacturer Alstom (then known as GEC Alsthom) and Canadian conglomerate Bombardier. The final assembly of the trains was performed at Alstom's Valenciennes 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.