Métrolor, as its name suggests (as a contraction of "métro" and "Lorraine"), is a brand for the internal passenger train service of the Lorraine region, where the trains' frequency and network's density are comparable to rapid transit systems.

Origins

The idea of Métrolor was originally applied by Alain Scholtès to the half-hourly service on the Nancy – Metz – Thionville line, started on 2 January 1970, by contractual arrangement between the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

and the departments of

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

and Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the first such contract in France outside of Greater Paris. Over the next ten years or so, the idea was taken up by Stélyrail (1976), Métrazur, TCR () Région Nord-Pas-de-Calais (1978), Métralsace and others. The first services, from 1970 to 1977, were made with SNCF Class RIB 60 rolling stock (, "Stainless steel suburban"), initially destined for the Paris region. Seven SNCF Class RIB 70 trains were assigned to the region permanently; these gave a more comfortable ride thanks to air suspension as opposed the mechanical suspension of the RIB 60. Six of these trains were heavily refurbished in 1990, with a shielded driver's cab in the style of

multiple unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...

s and a new torque converter. These units were renamed ("Stainless steel railbus") RIO 90. Used in support of the

SNCF Class Z 6300 The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail tra ...

class and the RIO together with the

SNCF Class BB 16500 The SNCF BB 16500s were a class of SNCF electric locomotives operating at a supply voltage of 25 kV single-phase 50 Hz AC. Ordered from 1954 as part of the electrification of the radial lines from Paris to the north and east of France, a to ...

, they were soon extending as far as the city of Luxembourg, although most stayed within the limits of Thionville. Duties were shared between the RRR, the

SNCF Class Z2 The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...

(French and Luxembourg

SNCF Class Z 11500 The SNCF Class Z 11500 are electric multiple units that were built by Alsthom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, sig ...

), "Caravelles" (

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s) and, for some routes between Metz and Nancy, a Corail train and some older trains made up of UIC Type Y rolling stock.

New definition: The Métrolor network

In November 2002 the name Métrolor returned to the Lorraine region to designate the regional railway services of

TER Lorraine TER Lorraine was the regional rail network serving Lorraine region, France. In 2016 it was merged into the new TER Grand Est. Network Rail Road * Thionville – Bouzonville – Creutzwald * Remiremont – Bussang * Remiremont – La Bresse ...

, encompassing also the cross-border services to Luxembourg and

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

. A yellow-and-red logo was designed, evoking the representative colours of the region.

References

External links

Official Métrolor site
** Transport express régional {{France-rail-transport-stub

Origins

New definition: The Métrolor network

See also

References

External links