Citadis Dualis, the Alstom tram train for the French
regions

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Citadis Dualis answers the growing need of cities to develop
public transport between the centre and suburbs, without
changing the load, to connect the city centre tramway network
to the suburban rail network. The tram-train Dualis penetrates
to the heart of cities like a tramway and runs on a regional
rail network by adapting power, safety and comfort. This
configuration makes it a polyvalent mode of transport: its tram
gauge enables it to circulate in the city, while its train
performances enable it to transport passengers at the speed of
100 km/h in the suburbs, without them having to change their
mode of transport.



With the same basic design as the Citadis tramway, Dualis
benefits from Alstom Transport’s return on experience:


• More than 700 Citadis in service
throughout the world, whose fundamental and successful
characteristics it repeats: modularity, accessibility,
reliability,


• the Regio Citadis tram train, the first bi-modal tram
train in the world, which has already proved itself in Germany,


• Coradia regional trains, from which it derives its
safety systems indispensable for circulating on the regional
rail network.



The product is entirely modular (2 widths of train set, several
possible sources of electric and diesel energy, the possibility
to chose the number and position of doors and windows…)
and offers a large choice of interior layouts (number of places
seated/standing, baggage/bicycle areas…), interior
decoration (different colours, lighting and atmospheres
depending on the spaces inside the train set…) and
exterior design (personalised livery with the markings of each
Region). Citadis Dualis is accessible to all, and in particular
to people with reduced mobility, thanks to its low floor
throughout and to a design that fills the gap between train and
platform.



For passive safety, Citadis Dualis is equipped with collapsible
coupling which absorbs a reinforced structure in the event of a
crash and thereby meets all the latest safety standards. In the
field of passenger safety, Alstom has developed a unique
onboard surveillance and passenger information system: Agate
e-Media. Besides video-surveillance, this system presents
strong added value for passenger communication: passengers
receive in real time information on the duration of the
journey, waiting times in stations, works and journey
incidents...elements that all contribute to increasing the
comfort and attractiveness of public transport.



Citadis Dualis is a new generation of rail equipment which
exists as a result of the latest Alstom Transport innovations:
new compact bogies adapted to circulation at 100 km/h to
improve comfort and circulation; permanent magnet engines, of
the same type as those tested on the rail speed record V150
train in April 2007, and which are particularly compact and
light, thereby reducing energy consumption. Lastly, thanks to
ONIX IGBT technology developed at the Alstom site in Tarbes
(France), the weight and volume of the Alstom traction chains
has been reduced by 30% while at the same time power has been
increased. Result: passengers have more space and operating
performance is improved.



The Citadis Dualis tram train is also a new vehicle for
sustainable mobility: 90% recyclable, energy consumption is
also reduced thanks to its permanent magnet engines. Going even
further, Alstom has committed to integrating environmental
parameters in the conception of its tram trains to master and
reduce their impact on the environment throughout their life
cycle, from manufacturing to recycling. This approach has made
it possible to:


• Improve the recyclability of tramways by employing
materials with well-developed recycling channels. Alstom is
also conducting research into the field of biomaterials from
renewable resources such as wood or hemp. This recyclability
today reaches a minimum of 85% and can go as far as 90%.


• Reduce noise both inside and outside the tramway
through the use of insulating materials and improving
wheel-rail contact with acoustic shock absorbers. Extremely
silent, the Citadis Dualis tram train in this way emits in
cities a noise level 5 dBA below the level generated by
automobile traffic, or nearly 4 times less noise.


• Reduce energy consumption within a context of
considerable price tension. The use of composite materials and
the improved efficiency of traction systems have made it
possible to reduce weight and energy consumption by 10%. A
Citadis Dualis therefore consumes in seated passenger/Kwh, 4
times less than a bus and 10 times less than a car.



Press contact

Laurent Gerbet


Tel + 33 1 57 06 92 83

laurent.gerbet@transport.alstom.com



Web site
www.transport.alstom.com