The MI 2N "Altéo" (French: ''Matériel d'Interconnexion à 2 Niveaux'', English: ''two-level interconnection rolling stock''), also known as the Class Z 1500 is a double-deck, dual-voltage

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

trainset that is operated on line A of the

Réseau Express Régional The (; ), commonly abbreviated RER (), is a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. It acts as a combined city-center underground rail system and suburbs-to-city-center commuter rail, similar to the Elizabe ...

(RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system serving

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 ...

and its

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

suburbs. The trains are

RATP The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under the name (). Its logo represents the Seine's meandering path th ...

s version of the

MI 2N The MI 2N (French: ''Matériel d'Interconnexion à 2 Niveaux'', English: ''two-level interconnection rolling stock'') is a family of double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainsets that are operated on the Réseau Express Régional ( ...

and looks similar to the other variant, the

SNCF Class Z 22500 The SNCF Class Z 22500, also known as the MI 2N "Eole" or MI 2N (French: ''Matériel d'Interconnexion à 2 Niveaux, Est Ouest Liaison Express'', English: ''two-level interconnection rolling stock for the east west express link'') is a Bilevel ra ...

(MI 2N "Eole") trains, but each features different motorization and interior layout. The 43 five-car trains were built by a

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

manufacturer

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

(then known as

GEC Alsthom GEC or Gec may refer to: Education * Gedo Education Committee, in Somalia * Glen Eira College, in Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia * Goa Engineering College, India * Government Engineering College (disambiguation) * Guild for Exceptiona ...

) and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

conglomerate Bombardier. The final assembly of the trains was performed at Alstom's

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

factory and Bombardier's Crespin factory between 1995 and 2005. The double-decker trains grew out of an effort to increase capacity on the RER A line, one of the world's busiest routes. These trains could carry up to 2,600 people per train, compared to 1,887 people on the single-deck trains that had been used on the RER A since it opened. These double-deck trains proved so successful and popular, operators of the RER A went on to purchase 140

MI 09 The MI 09 (French: ''Matériel d'Interconnexion de 2009'', English: ''interconnection rolling stock of 2009'') is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that is operated on line A of the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a ...

trainsets, an improved version of the MI 2N that would be built by the same Alstom-Bombardier consortium.

History

The

(RER) is a hybrid suburban commuter and

system serving

and its

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

. The

RER A RER A is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving the city and suburbs of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List o ...

line is, by far, the busiest in the system and is the busiest single rail line outside of East Asia, serving over 1.2 million passengers per day. The line started experiencing rapid growth in the 1980s, with traffic increasing by 9% per year on average. In an effort to relieve overcrowding on the line, the RATP began installing the

SACEM The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music or SACEM () is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publisher A mus ...

electronic train control system (which enabled extremely short spacing between trains) and started looking at purchasing double-deck trains. Double-deck trains, like the Z 2N series ( Class Z 5600 and Class Z 8800) were already in use on suburban

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 ...

networks and could carry up to 2,600 people per train, compared to 1,887 people on the single-deck

MS 61 The MS 61 (, ) was an electric multiple unit trainset that was operated on line A and line B of the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system serving Paris and its Île-de-France suburbs. The MS ...

trains that had been used on the RER A since it opened. At about the same time, the RATP started construction of the

Paris Métro Line 14 Paris Métro Line 14 (French: ''Ligne 14 du métro de Paris'') is one of the sixteen lines on the Paris Métro. It connects and Aéroport d'Orly (Paris Métro), Aéroport d'Orly on a north-west south-east diagonal via the three major station ...

, and

started construction of the

RER E RER E is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. The line travels between western and eastern suburbs, with all ...

line. Both would parallel the RER A in central Paris. That left the RATP and the SNCF looking for new equipment for the RER A and E lines, so in 1989 they decided to team up and issue a call for tenders. In 1992, they placed an order for 17 MI 2N trainsets from a

manufacturer

(at the time known as GEC Alstom) and

conglomerate Bombardier. The MI 2N would be based on the design of SNCF's Class Z 20500 trains being built by the same consortium for RER C and RER D lines, but with modifications to make them better suited to the busy RER A line, most notably three wide doors on each side of the cars (the Z 2N only had two). The RATP trains for the RER A would be called the MI 2N "Altéo", while the SNCF trains for the RER E would be called the Class Z 22500, also known as the MI 2N "Eole" (EOLE was the name of the RER E during construction). The two trains look very similar from the outside, but the "Altéo" trains for the RER A would feature three motors per trainset for faster acceleration, while the "Eole" trains would only have two motors, and would eliminate the stairs between the upper deck and the center vestibule in favor of having 22 additional seats per train. A pre-production train was delivered in 1996 for joint testing by both RATP and SNCF. The first order of 17 trainsets was delivered between 1997 and 1999, and the first train was put into service on 6 June 1997. RATP proceeded with a second option order of 12 trainsets, delivered between 2001 and 2002, and a third option order of 14 trainsets, delivered between 2003 and 2005. The double-deck trains proved so successful and popular that operators of the RER A went on to purchase 140

trainsets, an improved version of the MI 2N built by the same Alstom-Bombardier consortium.

Renovations

Starting in 2019, the 43 MI 2N Altéo trains are scheduled to undergo a renovation project that will modernize the cars' interior (replacement of seats and floor coverings, improved lighting, new multi-purpose areas), the installation of a

video surveillance Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal ...

system, the improvement of accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility (adding a call button for passengers in wheelchairs and improved loudspeaker system) and the improvement of the on-board passenger information system. The exterior of the train will also receive the new Île-de-France Mobilités livery (grey, white and light blue) that other forms of public transportation in Paris are now receiving. The €134 million renovation contract was awarded to

CAF CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

and will be paid for by RATP and Île-de-France Mobilités. The first renovated trains are expected to enter revenue service by early 2023.

Description

Altéos are able to operate on two different types of electrical power: RATP's 1.5 kV DC network and SNCF's

25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

network. The trains primarily operate using 1.5 kV DC, except when operating over the western A3 and A5 branches (between

Houilles–Carrières-sur-Seine station Houilles–Carrières-sur-Seine station (French language, French: ''Gare de Houilles-Carrières-sur-Seine'') is a railway station in Houilles, a suburb of Paris, on the Paris–Le Havre railway. Trains arrive at the station from Gare Saint-Laza ...

and

Cergy-le-Haut station Cergy-le-Haut () is a railway station in Cergy, a western Paris suburb, that serves trains on the RER A line of the Réseau Express Régional network and Line L line of the Transilien network. The station was built in 1994 and is located un ...

Poissy station Poissy station ( French: ''Gare de Poissy'') is a rail station in Poissy, France, at the western edge of Paris. Location The station is at kilometric point 25.835 of Paris–Le Havre railway. History The station was inaugurated on 9 May 18 ...

). Altéos made their commercial debut on 6 June 1997. 43 trainsets with a total of 215 cars were built for the

line.

Formations

As of 1 March 2022, 43 MI 2N Altéo trainsets were based at the Achères, Rueil-Malmaison, Sucy-en-Brie and Torcy RATP depots. As shown below, the trainsets are formed with three motored cars and two non-powered (trailer) cars (3M2T). * < or > show a pantograph. Cars 1 and 5 were each equipped with one pantograph.

Fleet

The number of Mi2N Altéo trainsets is 43, numbered 1501/02 to 1585/86. All are in service on line A of the Île-de-France RER. * Listing Fleet Mi2N (in french)

Photo gallery

File:Mi2N altéo 1525 en gare de Cergy Saint Christophe.jpg, MI 2N "Altéo" boarding passengers at Cergy–Saint-Christophe station File:MI2N salle haute 2+2 par Cramos.JPG, MI 2N "Altéo" interior, upper deck File:Alteo interieur5.jpg, MI 2N "Altéo" interior, lower deck File:Alteo interieur.jpg, MI 2N "Altéo" interior, mid-deck showing the wide entry doors, and stairs to upper and lower decks File:Atelier de Sucy-en-Brie - Cabine MI 2N pupitre 02.jpg, Operators compartment File:MI2N - SISVE.jpg, MI 2N "Altéo" interior, mid-deck showing the SISVE lighted route map File:Ligne de Nanterre a Sartrouville - viaduc de Nanterre - MI2N - Avril 2012 (3).jpg, On a viaduct File:Atelier de Sucy-en-Brie - Bogie MI 2N - 01.jpg, first bogie,we can see the Linear Eddy current brake

References

External links

MI 2N page on Metro-pole.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alteo SNCF multiple units Double-decker EMUs Electric multiple units of France 25 kV AC multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of France Train-related introductions in 1996