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, a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system serving Paris and its Île-de-France suburbs.
The MS 61 borrowed many elements from the Z 23000 railcars built for the Ligne de Sceaux, including four pairs of doors on each side of the cars for fast boarding of passengers at stations, but the MS 61 was capable of speeds of up to compared to for the Z 23000.
Unlike later rolling stock for the RER lines, the MS 61 lacked dual-voltage capabilities and could only use the RATP's 1.5 kV DC electrical system, limiting them to only operating between and or on the RER A and between Gare du Nord and or on the RER B.
The MS 61 trains first entered service on 29 June 1967 on the RER B and were removed from the line on 28 February 1983 after the delivery of the MI 79 and MI 84 dual-voltage trainsets. The MS 61 trains began operation on the RER A on 14 December 1969 where they remained in service until 16 April 2016 after gradually being replaced by the MI 2N and MI 09 series of dual-voltage, higher capacity trains.
History
Construction
The MS 61 series was built before the RER came into existence on 8 December 1977: a total of 127 units and one spare trailer were built by Brissonneau et Lotz, ANF and for the RATP from 1963.The manufacturers constructed a total of six types for the MS 61 series: A, B, C, D, E and Ex. Types A and B had a windshield with three-sections of glass, while types C, D, E and Ex had a windshield with a single curved piece of glass.
Service history
The first MS 61 trains entered service on the Ligne de Sceaux from 29 June 1967. On 14 December 1969, type B units replaced trains pulled by SNCF class 141TB steam locomotives on the Ligne de Vincennes, following the completion of electrification work and the relocation of the western terminus from Gare de la Bastille to.Type C units entered service when the western end of the RER A between and opened on 19 January 1970, and reached on 23 November 1971: type D units then reinforced the former when that line extended to Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 1 October 1972, displacing the trains. From 8 December 1977, the connection of RER A and B at, and the extension of RER A to allowed all MS 61 units, including the Type E and Ex units, to move between and operate on the two lines.
MS 61 trains reached on 19 December 1980 and Gare du Nord on 10 December 1981, but the next northern RER B extensions to Charles de Gaulle Airport and would use SNCF's 25 kV AC electrification, instead of RATP's 1.5 kV DC system that the MS 61 could only handle. Consequently, the MI 79 and MI 84 units, both of which were designed to work with the two electrification systems, replaced the MS 61 units on RER B by 28 February 1983, but the track connections north of Châtelet–Les Halles allowed empty MS 61 trains to continue accessing the southern part of RER B.
For the remainder of their service life, MS 61 trains operated on the RATP-owned sections of the RER A, which was from Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Boissy-Saint-Léger and Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy.
MS 61 trains were never the oldest in service on the RER: the Z 23000 trains remained in service on the Ligne de Sceaux until 27 February 1987, while the Z 5300 trains joined the RER fleet on 26 September 1979. The last Z 5300 trains operated on the RER D between and until 8 December 2018, when they were replaced by 19 Regio 2N trains.
Refurbishment
There were two refurbishment programmes for the MS 61 trains: the first one took place between 1985 and 1992, and the other rebuilt 105 units between 2005 and 2008. In the second refurbishment, the front ends were replaced with a new design. The first train from the second refurbishment entered service on 26 April 2006.Withdrawal
The MI 09 double-decker trains, which entered service on 5 December 2011, replaced all MS 61 and MI 84 trains on RER A, as part of a works programme to increase passenger capacity and replace life-expired infrastructure. Once all MS 61 and MI 84 trains were withdrawn from service, all trains on the RER A were double-decker.In 2014, the RATP appointed Veolia Environment to dismantle and recycle the MS 61 units that were part of the second refurbishment programme, plus two additional cars. Veolia dismantled these trains at a specialised facility at Torvilliers, because the trains contained hazardous materials such as asbestos.
In 2010, the RATP selected trainset 24 for preservation at as part of the historic rail vehicle collection at the Villeneuve-Saint-Georges yard. The selected unit was not part of the second refurbishment programme, and retains the original front ends and the "Île-de-France" livery.
Design and features
Seating and accessibility
According to the RATP, one MS 61 unit was capable of carrying up to 721 passengers : the trains also provided luggage racks in both first and second classes, but they were removed in the [|first refurbishment programme] from 1985 to 1992. The trailer cars also had a first class section: the Syndicat des Transports Parisiens abolished first class travel on 1 September 1999, and the second refurbishment programme removed the bulkheads that divided the first and second class sections, along with those that separated the leading set of doors of the driving motor.The seats originally used leatherette covering, and were coloured green in first class, and red in second class. During the first refurbishment programme, they were replaced by a fire and vandal-resistant design that used a navy blue plastic frame and purple fabric covering. In the second refurbishment programme, the seats were replaced again, with a similar design that used an orange plastic frame and a moquette of multicoloured stripes.
The MS 61 trains were built at a time when wheelchair accessibility was not a priority. Following the second refurbishment, the leading end of motor cars were designated for users with wheelchairs, as well as passengers with bicycles. In practice however, wheelchair users would travel on the leading car because there was no level access between the platform and the train, and a staff-operated boarding ramp had to be used to allow wheelchair users to board or alight an MS 61 train.
Passenger information
The second refurbishment programme introduced the to the MS 61: SISVE is a passenger information system that consists of automated passenger information announcements and electronic line diagrams.Operation and signalling
Initial batches of MS 61 trains were operated by a two-person crew of a motorman and a conductor, as it had been the case for the trains that they replaced: however, they were later converted for one-person operation. The operation of passenger doors on the MS 61 was the same as the Paris Métro trains, until the introduction of the MF 77 in September 1978: passengers manually opened the doors by using a handle-based latch, the conductor or motorman closed them prior to departure, and a departure bell signalled that all the doors were locked.MS 61 trains originally operated on block signalling: in 1989, they were converted for the SACEM signalling system, which currently operates on the core section of RER A.
Power
The MS 61 trains were single-voltage units that only operated on RATP's 1,500 kV DC network: they could not serve the and branches, because those branches used SNCF's 25 kV / 50 Hz AC electrification.Numbering and formation
- Type A: M.15001 to M.15031 + AB.18001 to 18015
- Type B: M.15032 to M.15124 + AB.18016 to 18062
- Type C: M.15125 to M.15148 + AB.18063 to 18074
- Type D: M.15149 to M.15216 + AB.18075 to 18108
- Type E: M.15217 to M.15236 + AB.18109 to 18118
- Type Ex: M.15237 to M.15254 + AB.18119 to 18128.
Front design
The MS 61 series used three types of dot-matrix displays for the destination panel. When delivered, the MS 61 used four 5×7 panels surrounded by two lights, and was capable to displaying a four-digit service number in amber.Following the first refurbishment of the 1980s, the destination panel changed to six 5×7 panels, which was capable of displaying the mission code in amber, and the service number in red, without spaces.
Following the second refurbishment of the 2000s, the destination panel changed to a single grid of 100×16 pixels, which was capable of alternating between the destination and the mission code and service number. This type of destination panel is also in use on the MI 79 and MI 09 trains, as well as the MI 84 trains that operate on the RER B.
Liveries
RATP has used three liveries for the MS 61 series:- The first livery was blue and grey, similar to the Paris Métro trains at the time, but without yellow borders. The first class section was denoted by a yellow stripe instead of being painted entirely in cream yellow.
- The second livery, known as the "Île-de-France" livery, was navy and white, with red doors and front panel. Three trains carried a variant of the livery to deter graffiti artists.
- The third livery was also navy and white, but the front end had a red roof and white panel with the RATP logo, and large tilted red squares bordered with white to mark the location of the passenger doors.
Cooling and ventilation
In the early stages of the second refurbishment in the 2000s, the sash and fixed windows were replaced by hopper windows on both sides to reduce external noise, but passenger complaints regarding poor ventilation during the peak hours resulted in the adoption of an alternating arrangement of hopper and sash windows.