The new Marseille metro will be fully automated -
Alstom Design & Styling / Ora ïto & Fabien Bourdier
The Aix-Marseille Provence metropolis presented the new trainsets that will run in the Marseille metro.
These trainsets will be delivered in 2023, to replace the current ones that have been in use for forty years.
Bring the Marseille metro into the 21st century.
This is the wish expressed by the LR president of the Aix-Marseille Provence metropolis, Martine Vassal, by presenting the future trains of the Marseille metro on Monday.
And it must be said that it was about time: the trains which currently circulate in the second city of France are about forty years old… That is to say the date of inauguration of the first metro of the Phocaean city.
After taking an online vote which brought together nearly 17,000 Marseillais, the project “Listening to the city” imagined by the Marseille designer Ora Ïto and the designer Fabien Bourdier was selected.
"We wanted this metro to be timeless, so that it could cross the ages, while preserving its origin through the prism of modernity," Ora Ïto affirms.
With its hexagonal shape, we wanted to purify it as much as possible, with a very light interior like Marseille, with touches of blue.
White is a pure color that can span the ages.
We also wanted to reinforce the windows on the sides to have the impression of having huge windows.
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A fully automated metro
Above all, this metro will be air-conditioned and fully automated, driverless, like what already equips Parisian line 14.
“The current metro drivers, who represent around 80 people, will be retained within the management as intervention agents,” says RTM director Catherine Pila.
They will be able to react in less than ten minutes in the field.
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“We will be the first French metro which will go entirely to autonomous management,” says Martine Vassal.
This makes it possible to add additional wagons and to respect the schedules.
We are also going to equip the platforms with platform doors, which is fantastic because it helps prevent people from accidentally falling on the tracks or throwing things on them.
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"Like on line 14 in Paris"
The 38 new trainsets designed by Alstom "will consume 25% less energy than the trains currently in service, thanks in particular to electric braking, LED lighting and other optimizations", promises the city in a press release.
Access to 4G and WiFi will be possible there in 2023.
“This metro is what we call a boa metro, completely open, explains Jean-Baptiste Eyméoud, president of Alstom in France.
As on line 14 in Paris, it will be possible to move from one car to another, which allows for better fluidity within the metro.
It will also be more secure thanks to all the cameras and passenger information systems that will be installed.
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First train in 2023
“The delivery of the first train is scheduled for the end of 2022, certainly January or February 2023, hopes Catherine Pila.
We are planning a switch to full automation for line 2 in October 2025 and line 1 in October 2026. ”The installation work on these new trains will only be done at night, when the metro is no longer running, so as not to interrupt traffic.
"With the new teams, we are making regular points, and there is no question of being late", warns Martine Vassal, somewhat scalded by the construction of the new Gèze metro station which is five years late. .
A contract worth 430 million euros
A transformation that comes at a cost: the amount of the contract signed with Alstom amounts to 430 million euros.
"The department puts 80 million euros, the metropolis and the RTM bring on their reserves", indicates Martine Vassal, without further details.
The president of the metropolis claims to have requested the assistance of the city of Marseille for this funding, without having an answer.
“If she wants, she can,” says the opposition councilor.
Above all, Martine Vassal hopes to obtain state aid through the recovery plan.
"This would allow us to free up room for maneuver," said Martine Vassal.
But the funding is now complete and the realization will be done.
If we have state funding, this will allow us to make other investments.
A meeting is scheduled between government officials and the president of the metropolis on the subject this week.
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Work in the stations
In parallel with this new metro, the metropolis is also promising the progressive accessibility of metro stations, with seven stations (Vieux-Port, La Rose, Timone, Jules-Guesdes, Rond-Point du Prado, Castellane and Saint-Charles) in 2023. The others will follow “from 2024”.
Transport
Marseilles
Metro