Brussels, 06/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Communauté d'agglomération de Rouen Elbeuf Austreberthe (CREA), France, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on Monday 5 March that they had signed a €60 million loan agreement for the purchase of 27 new high capacity metro carriages and for the alteration and improvement of the network infrastructure.
The 27 new carriages will mean that 40,000 additional passengers can be carried every day. They will provide the very best in comfort, with air conditioning, visual and auditory information, and platform-height flooring for ease of access. The environmentally friendly carriages are 98% recyclable and consume 10% less energy thanks to the use of composite materials.
The EIB financing seeks to enhance the quality and passenger-carrying capacity of public transport in the greater Rouen agglomeration. CREA plans to purchase carriages and carry out the work necessary for them to be put into circulation will cost €125 million. In addition to buying new wagons, the budget will see the Saint-Sever, Boulingrin and Technopôle stations extended and modernised. The Jeanne d'Arc bridge will be strengthened. All the work will be completed for the carriages to be put into circulation this summer.
Monday's loan reflects EIB activity to assist public transport and town redevelopment in France with the aim of improving energy consumption and the quality of urban life. In 2011 alone, just over €1 billion was devoted to public transport and urban redevelopment in France. (OL/transl.rt)