RATP, the operator of the Paris Metro, has ordered twelve custom locomotives from Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler.
They will be electric and be used to perform servicing, maintenance and repair works on the infrastructure of the entire RATP network and be introduced into passenger service starting in 2027. The network has a total length of 245km.
This is Stadler’s first-ever order from RATP. The framework agreement also includes an option for two additional vehicles.
RATP will add these locomotives to its existing complement of vehicles.

One Locomotive, 14 Lines
One unique feature of the Paris Metro is that it has lines that uses conventional steel-wheeled rolling stock as well as metro cars that are rubber-tyred. These locomotives will be able to run on both types of line.
The four-axle locomotives, which are 15 metres long, will be equipped with fully automatic couplings and will also be capable of double traction. They will be designed in such a way that they will be able to handle the tight curves that feature heavily on this standard gauge network.
The RATP locomotives will haul heavy work trains to construction sites on the network. They will run alongside regular metro services and on routes that are operated without a driver. In single traction, each one can pull around 120 tonnes, 240 tonnes in double traction.
Stadler is building a high level of redundancy into these locomotives, making them both very safe and highly reliable, which is important as they will be operational in tunnels during regular metro service.
Electric Power
In battery-electric drive, the locomotives will acquire their energy via their current collector or from using their on-board traction batteries. In regular operation, the conductor rail will supply electrical energy of 750V. On construction sites, where the third rail is switched off, the locomotives will be powered by their batteries which are then recharged from the third rail.
RATP carries 11 million passengers on its network every day.
Christian König, Deputy Head of Sales & Marketing at Stadler, said:We are very proud to have won RATP as a customer and to have impressed them with our technology.
With our innovative, customised locomotives, efficient and sustainable maintenance can be realised and the infrastructure of the Paris metro can be made fit for the future.
Though RATP is a new customer for Stadler, the Swiss manufacturer already has other locomotives in operation in France, including the EuroDual, the Euro4001 and the Euro6000, which are all used by freight rail operators.