Gare de Lyon outer suburban Z5600 units

[Peter Mugridge]

A long shot, but does anyone know how many of the 16 class Z5600 that work the outer suburban services off Gare de Lyon are diagrammed each weekday and which specific services they are diagrammed for?

This is forward planning for haulage purposes for a future Paris trip - I have all the RER Z5600 units for haulage but only one of the 16 outer suburban units...

From memory it's only one an hour off peak and the first stop is not until zone 5 and the inbound passes the outbound half way making it very inefficient for quick bashing; is this still the case?

 

[CC 72100]

I take it you're referring to those on the Transillien line R?

I was at Gare de Lyom briefly on Wednesday, around 1pm. There was a 13:19 to Montargis (first stop according to the timetable being Melun) which was waiting to leave, and this was one of those units (in the white livery, as opposed to the blue of the RER D versions) I didn't see it, but there was also a 13:49 to Montereau - what the traction was on that, I don't know.

According to the wikipedia article, they also operate some TER services to Laroche - Migennes, although I can't vouch for the accuracy of that info.

Hope there was something useful in there, perhaps!

Line R timetable (you're right, they do just miss eachother at Melun): http://www.transilien.com/contents/fr/Docs---PDF/Fiches-horaires/hiver/DR-AN13-D48-LV-v01.pdf

Wikipedia article: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_5600

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Thank you,

Yes.... a two minute miss is even more annoying than the previous passing half way I guess... however, guessing that the turnaround at Gare de Lyon is going to be 34 rather than 4 minutes that does give rise to a possible tight leap which would seem to actually maake things easier - as long as both trains are Z5600, of course - the reason I only have one rather than two haulages so far is that last time I tried it one of them was a Z20500.

Now don't get me wrong, I like the Z20500s and it was a winner, but since the Z5600s in question can only be had on that sector and the Z20500s work Line D services it was rather annoying...!!

 

[CC 72100]

Thank you,

Now don't get me wrong, I like the Z20500s and it was a winner, but since the Z5600s in question can only be had on that sector and the Z20500s work Line D services it was rather annoying...!!

I'd agree with that - they're on the RER D in a fair number, so it's easy enough to get them in on that to start with. The refurbished ones (I think most are now) are very smart, although I can't help feeling that the door position means slower loading compared to the MI 2N or MI 09 stock on the RER A for example. I'm not sure how well it works in practice at say Gare de Lyon or Gare du Nord in the evening peak with those door layouts, and unless I've chosen a very interesting way to get home from work, I can't see me finding out!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I actually prefer the original interior on the Z20500s... it just looks very neat to me. agree, the MI2N / MI09 is faster loading, but it's unbelievably untidy and cluttered inside isn't it?

 

[CC 72100]

I actually prefer the original interior on the Z20500s... it just looks very neat to me. agree, the MI2N / MI09 is faster loading, but it's unbelievably untidy and cluttered inside isn't it?

I agree that it looks neat on the refurbished sets.

They are cluttered inside, yes. I also find that it is difficult to see all the way down the carriage, as the doorways and stairs break the carriage up into little segments, which I'm not sure on from a personal security point of view. The MI 09s I find better than the M12Ns though.

In fact, I'd say the 09s and MS61s (so the newest and oldest) are the best stocks on the line, as the MI84 stock also seems very dark inside. At least on the MS61, despite their lower capacity due to being single deck, you can see right down the carriage and minus the obligatory graffiti, still seem quite light and smart inside.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I agree that it looks neat on the refurbished sets.

I think you misread what I wrote? I'm saying I prefer the original interior on the Z20500s...


MS61s... what I like about them is the very musical noises they make.

 

[CC 72100]

I think you misread what I wrote? I'm saying I prefer the original interior on the Z20500s...

Ah - I did misread that. Only experienced the refurbished ones I'm afraid.



As for the noises - That is very true. I'm yet to do the long trip in the tunnel to La Défense yet, although I may do all of the line one day to St Germain en Laye.

 

[Temple Meads]

Being a very long way from an expert on foreign railways, I have a few questions about the French network:

How does the French network compare to that in the UK generally?
Is the network comprehensive, or patchy like ours post Beeching?
Is there much freight?

Ta

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It's a comprehensive network, but some service frequencies outside the main conurbations and off the TGV network are, shall we say, a bit thin. Check timetables carefully before travelling - in some cases logic is not very apparent*!

There is a decent volume of freight when you take all the various operators into account.



*20 years ago en route from Nevers to Orleans SNCF tried to tell me to get a bus between there and Saincaize or Vierzon ( can't remember which order they're in! ); I said I would prefer to wait for a train. There was one with less than an hour's wait which I caught - a pair of Caravelle DMUs - and it beat the bus... It was also in the station for about 45 minutes before departure, so it was a comfortable wait...

During the wait, having first asked the Chef de Gare if there was any freight due and pointing at my camera, he said he would check. About 25 - 30 minutes later, he boarded the DMU and beckoned to me, took me back onto a platform, said to wait a moment... two minutes later a Sybic hauled freight rolled up to a halt in that platform... he'd actually flagged it so I could get a good picture of it!!!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

UPDATE:

Well, I bagged 5 of the outstanding 15 units, but they really are fiendishly difficult to locate - I would say they form only 25% of the diagrams and it seem to be at random; a fast service between Gare de Lyon and Melun might have either two Z20500s, two Z5600 or one of each. Or in one case a TER push pull set with a BB7200 ( bonus! )