Big News for Paris Commuters: RER Lines B and D Get Major Upgrade

So, guess what? They’ve only gone and sorted out the cash for the Paris RER lines B and D CBTC project! The Île-de-France region is putting up 70% of the €967m cost for the fixed infrastructure, and the central government is chipping in the other 30%. And get this, the French National Railways (SNCF) and Paris Transport (RATP) are also throwing in €35m. But wait, there’s more – Île de France Mobility is shelling out €239m for the on-board equipment on 350 trains. They’re on the lookout for a contractor to get the system installed, and it’s gonna take about 10 years to cover the whole network. The NExTEO system is gonna make it possible to run 32 trains an hour through the central tunnel, which is a big jump from the current 27. That’s gonna be a game-changer for the 1.7 million passengers who use these lines on weekdays. Oh, and by the way, Siemens Mobility is already getting NExTEO set up on RER Line E, and they’ve just rolled out the first batch of double-deck trains with this tech. Exciting stuff, right?