Rennes Metro’s new automated Line B has now entered revenue service, equipped with Siemens Mobility’s driverless metro system Cityval.

Siemens Mobility delivers Line B of the Rennes metro

© Siemens Mobility

This technology was designed at the Siemens Mobility world centre of expertise in Toulouse.

It offers 60-second minimum intervals between trains and has the ability to add a third car during its operation, increasing the capacity without having to build new infrastructure.

Innovations in the concrete slab, guiding rail and switches allow for cost optimisation over the project’s entire lifecycle, plus energy consumption is reduced thanks to the management of train movement via the CBTC automatic system.

In addition, the fully electric braking system enables energy savings of up to 15% with virtually no particle emissions.

Crossing the Rennes metropolitan area along a South-West axis, Line B has 15 stations and is 13 kilometres in length.

This new line has been commissioned 20 years after the French city’s first metro line opened, which used Siemens Mobility VAL technology.

For this contract Siemens Mobility provided the entire system engineering, delivered, and implemented the Cityval rolling stock (25 trainsets, initially consisting of two cars), automated train control system, track system, electrification, platform doors, operating control centre (OCC) and garage workshop facilities.

This was in addition to the radio communication and real-time video transmission in the stations and onboard the trains.

The company is also providing the services for operations and maintenance of the system, including the training of personnel, instructions, spare parts and documentation.

source= https://railway-news.com/france-rennes-metro-line-b-enters-service/