The Class Z23500 also called TER 2N (TER 2 Niveaux) is a class of double-deck electric

multiple units A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

operated in France. They were built by GEC-Alstom and

Ateliers du Nord de la France Alstom Crespin, formerly Bombardier Transport France and ANF Industrie, is a French rolling stock manufacturer based at Crespin, in Hauts-de-France region, France. The company was acquired by Bombardier Transportation in 1989, then by Alstom in 2 ...

, (which became Bombardier) for

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 ...

and are used on the

TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...

Network. These sets consist of 2 double deck coaches. They were built from 1997 and a total of 80 units were built. The units were ordered by the following regions:

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

and

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

. They are mainly used on stopping services around the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

(Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Lille (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) and Lyon (Rhône-Alpes). They use the TER livery of their regions, e. g. the trains of Rhône-Alpes have a light blue livery. File:SNCF Z23500 Saint Etienne 10-03-05.jpg, Two Z 23500's at Saint Etienne. File:TER à Villefranche sur Saône.JPG, A Rhone-Alpes liveried set at Villefranche sur Saône. File:Une UM de TER 2 N en gare de Bandol.jpg, A

TER PACA Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob Sa ...

SNCF Class Z 23500 in

Bandol Bandol (; ) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The region, located near the coast ...

on the Marseille-Ventmiglia railway line.

History

During the 80's,

noticed massive growth of regional frequentation. The region ordered a first set of 6 Class Z 92050 in 1994 technically identical to Class Z 20500 to cope this situation. The Class Z 92050 offer a better power performance in comparison of tracted VO 2N and a satisfying capacity.

and

PACA A paca ia a rodent in South and Central America. Paca or PACA may also refer to: People * William Paca (1740–1799), a Founding Father of the United States * Paca Blanco (Francisca Blanco Díaz, born 1949), Spanish activist * Paca Navas (Franc ...

was also interested about the Z 2N series due to the growth of frequentation but wanted better amenagements for long distances. The Z 23500 serie is the first generation of TER 2N séries followed in 2004 by the Z 24500/ Z 26500 series also called TER 2N NG. Following a tender

and

ordered 80 Z 23500 trainset (160 cars) to

GEC-Alsthom 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 a ...

and

ANF ANF may refer to: Companies * ANF (real estate), a French property-management company * ANF Les Mureaux, a French aircraft manufacturer 1918–1937 * Ateliers du Nord de la France, a French locomotive manufacturer * Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE symbol ...

in 1995. SNCF completed a refurbishment programme of all of its Z 23500 sets in September 2022.

Design

The Class Z 23500 is based on a half 4 cars Z 20500 train with engine and amenagements upgrades. The Z 2N platform was used due to its capacity, and upgrades were introduced like better seats and an

IGBT An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily forming an electronic switch. It was developed to combine high efficiency with fast switching. It consists of four alternating layers (NPNP) that ...

based traction system. Air conditioning was also added to improve comfort. The original project was designed with a GTO component based traction system but

proposed a new traction system based on IGBT component which is called ONIX. The traction system is based on IGBT components and 3-phase

asynchronous motor An induction motor or asynchronous motor is an AC electric motor in which the electric current in the rotor that produces torque is obtained by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field of the stator winding. An induction motor theref ...

s. The ONIX traction system was tested on a Z 20500 (194 A) train between 1996 and 1997, this train was nicknamed "ADONIX" for «Automotrice Deux niveaux ONIX». This traction system is also use in Class Z 20900 and CP Class CP 3500.

Delivery

The first three pre-series trains ( Z 23501, Z 23502 and Z 23503) were delivered in autumn 1997 for testing. The first series train (Z 23505) entered in service on 15 February 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncf Class Z 23500

Z 23500 Z, or z, is the twenty-sixth and last letter of the Latin alphabet. It is used in the modern English alphabet, in the alphabets of other Western European languages, and in others worldwide. Its usual names in English are ''zed'' (), which i ...

Double-decker EMUs Electric multiple units of France Alstom multiple units Bombardier Transportation multiple units Train-related introductions in 1997 25 kV AC multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of France