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Transport Overview No. 52

Transport Overview No. 52

19/01/12

A unique overview by the Centre d’analyse stratégique written by Christine Raynard, Department of Sustainable Development.

1) The British manufacturer Rolls-Royce will present the results of the world tour of its electrical-driven limousine (Munich, Paris, Madrid, Singapore, Beijing, Dubai, Los Angeles, New York and Geneva) in the first quarter of 2012. This electrical prototype consists of a phantom body and is equipped with a lithium-ion battery containing nickel, cobalt and manganese, and two electric motors.

The battery can be charged to hold a total capacity of 71 kWh in either one 20 hour-phase or in three 8 hour-phases. Each battery has three loading units, plus a fourth induction charger to allow for wireless recharging.

The battery is designed to keep for a minimum of three years of daily use with a range of 200 km.

The Rolls-Royce electrical prototype starts with a simple switch, which also to stops the battery charging. It can reach a top speed of 160 km/h.

2) After a free car sharing scheme was launched at a Paris regional station (outside Paris) in 2009, SNCF Transilien together with Green Cove is now experimenting with dynamic carpooling at the Houdan station (Yvelines).

Display screens have been installed on the platform and the parking lot of the station. Both the availabilities and the demands are available in real time for the users registered on the site, which is now over a thousand people.

Smartphone users can use the phone to scan the terminal for a "flash code" of the offer that suits their needs. The user can then access all the relevant information for the trip: a reminder of the destination, the price, the departure time and the contact information of the carpool or car.

An identical system has also been tested at the Montbéliard station for daily RER-users in Franche-Comte.

The results of the experiments are expected in early 2012, and a possible development across the entire suburban network from the last quarter of 2012 is planned based on the expected results. The investments made by SNCF at the Houdan station amounted to 100,000 euros. Although this service is free, the station benefits from having a reputation as a global player in mobility.

3) In Belgium, three rail lines will soon be supplied with "green" electricity through 25 newly installed onshore turbines (16 in Flanders and 9 in Wallonia) along the railway line and the highway between Brussels and Liege, an unusually windy area. The high speed line and the traditional line between Brussels and Liège, as well as the line between Landen and Hannut will be equipped with this electricity.

This project is led by Electrabel, a GDF SUEZ subsidiary, which will own 90% of the wind farm and Infrabel, a Belgian rail infrastructure manager, which will own 10%. 
The investment totals 83 million euros and will cover just over 2% of the total energy that the Belgian rail network requires.

For the record, in 2011, Infrabel, together with other partners, installed 16,000 solar panels on the roof of a tunnel for the high speed line Antwerp - Amsterdam (see Transport Overview No. 46 of 8 July 2011 ).


Press Contact:

Jean-Michel Roullé, Head of Communications
Tel. +33 (0) 1 42 75 61 37 - jean-michel.roulle@strategie.gouv.fr

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