Bombardier Transportation has officially unveiled the OMNEO train at its manufacturing site in Crespin in Northern France. This new double-deck train, named Regio 2N, is wider than conventional Electrical Multiple Units (EMUs), with more onboard space, maximum seating, large access platforms and two wide doors, plus quiet cars for long journeys. It is available in various configurations, from six to 10 cars, with total lengths between 81m and 135 and top speeds between 160 and 200kph.
Bombardier has built nine test trains so that the thousands of tests can be conducted simultaneously. While waiting for certification, several trains will run test journeys from January 2014 to allow SNCF’s staff to check their operational reliability before full commissioning. The Regio 2N project teams at Bombardier’s site near Valenciennes will initially deliver 129 trains within two years — for use in Aquitaine, Brittany, Centre, Nord-Pas de Calais, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Rhône-Alpes. The contract allows for a maximum of 860 trains.
Lutz Bertling, President of Bombardier Transportation, said: “This train is the right choice to meet the future needs of regional transportation — not only because of its large capacity, passenger comfort and high performance but also thanks to the many configurations available, such as the InterCity V200 version. Bombardier’s Crespin teams have met an outstanding technical challenge by delivering a completely new industrial product as complex as this one in such a short time-frame.”
The OMNEO is the latest addition to Bombardier’s double-deck EMU portfolio. Offering high capacity in densely populated areas and high speed on inter-city routes, double-deck trains move millions of people every day.