The SNCF Class BB 9400 was a class of Bo'Bo' electric locomotives of

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 ...

. They were used to haul L’Aquilon, a high-speed passenger train between

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 ...

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

and

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. The locomotives were given the nickname "

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

", as they were very lightweight. They were one of a series of locomotives referred to as "BB Jacquemin", as they used bogies designed by engineer André Jacquemin. The locomotive itself was designed by noted French railway designer

Paul Arzens Paul Arzens (28 August 1903 – 2 February 1990) was a French industrial designer of railway locomotives and motor cars. Arzens was born in Paris, at an address along the on the northern side of the city. As a young man he studied at t ...

. In later years they hauled passenger trains on the difficult

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–

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line. The locomotive series was built between 1967 and 1969, numbered 9401 to 9535. These fell into two groups; the original group was limited to , with units BB 9531 to 9535 capable of . These units operated under a 1,500 V DC

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

, with a power of . The locomotives are long and weigh . They were fitted for multiple unit and push–pull working. Some were modified in the 1980s to work in freight service and reclassified as BB 9600, with sound-proofed cabins and a unified control stand for the operator. The class was withdrawn from service by 1994, with one example, BB 9411, preserved on display at the Gare de Nîmes.

Notes

{{SNCF locos 9400 9400 1500 V DC locomotives B-B locomotives Passenger locomotives MTE locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1967