A more or less rounded line of headlights, a more or less wide front window, a grille with more or less marked curves ... These are the different options that travelers-Internet users will be able to decide to give a "face" to the trainsets. the future line 18 (Orly-Orsay-Versailles) of the Grand Paris Express, the first section of which is due to open in 2026.
Ile-de-France Mobilités, the organizing authority for regional transport, and the SGP (Société du Grand Paris) which is building the lines of the future “super-metro”, have just launched a public consultation on the internet to choose the design. trains from the 18. Voters have until December 15, at midnight, to connect to the platform dedicated to the operation (https://designdevostransports.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/) and to designate among the three proposals, the one that appeals to them the most.
Option 1 is supposed to be the "smileiest"
The same type of “on-line” consultation was organized in spring 2021 to allow users to choose the design of the “MI20”, the new generation RER trains which will replace the aging trainsets of line B ... in principle at from 2025. Some 18,000 Internet users took part in this first ballot.
For the new consultation, the French manufacturer Alstom (which obtained the contract for the production of trainsets that will equip line 18) has designed 3 versions of the exterior front face ... that the uninitiated may have a little trouble differentiating .
Option 2 is the one that offers the most panoramic view.
If the option which will have the voters' preference remains to be determined, the general characteristics of the future trainsets are already known.
Of the “boa” type (without separation between the cars), the subways of the 18 will consist of 3 cars 47 meters long with a total capacity of 350 passengers.
They will all be equipped with dynamic information screens, USB sockets and internet connection systems.
A new automatic piloting system for the future driverless metro should also make it possible to reduce the interval between each train to 85 seconds during rush hour.
In a joint press release, Ile-de-France Mobilités, SGP and Alstom announced on Wednesday that the first trains of the 18 will leave the factory in 2024. The Grand Paris Express line will then be put into service, in phases, between 2026 and 2030.