We have been talking about it since 2019. This time, the Region voted 36.6 million euros to build a new technicentre in Chalindrey which will be able to accommodate the 110 meters long Coradia-liner trains. It should be operational by the end of 2026.
In April 2019 David Valence, then vice-president of the Grand-Est Region in charge of transport, came to the Chalindrey Technicentre to discuss the creation of a new technicentre. Such equipment already exists in Chalindrey, a historic activity that is still called “the depot” where TER trainsets are maintained and repaired, but not only because Chalindrey has know-how in diesel machines.
On the other hand, the current building cannot accommodate the 110 meters long of the new Coradia-liner trains. A real concern of which the Region was aware. If an in-house SNCF project provided for “at a minimum” construction with a single sheltered track, the Region saw bigger and, above all, more adapted to the future workload.
The Covid period stopped the regional initiative “A lot of delays have occurred. We have started work again to reactivate the project,” comments Thibaud Philipps, current vice-president of the Region in charge of transport.
A large part of the maintenance of the Grand Est TERs is carried out at Paris-Ourcq. This large center that we pass before arriving at the Gare de l'Est. “Paris-Ourcq was becoming complex. It is the maintenance location for SNCF Voyageur, for Freight and Infra,” explains Thibaud Philipps. The Region also wishes to have the maintenance of its equipment carried out in premises which belong to it so as to no longer depend on the workload of the SNCF.
Main workshop for Coradia-Liner trains
Chalindrey won. But it was necessary to construct a building suitable for the Coradia-Liner trainsets.
-The defined specifications provide for two lanes in the building, a third technical and washing lane. “There will also be an electrical test track. This concerns line 1 (Vallée de La Marne) and line 4 (Paris-Belfort) to Troyes. It will not be over a long distance but it will allow tests to be carried out in electric mode,” explains the vice-president.
Chalindrey will therefore take an important place in the regional TER network. “This will become our main workshop for these two lines. We keep Paris-Ourcq for its proximity to the Gare de l’Est. It’s a real option that we put on Chalindrey. We want to be ready for the arrival of the new large expresses which will be put into service in 2033,” explains Thibaud Philipps.
The Chalindrey Technicentre should take charge of the 24 Coradia-Liner trains which run on line 4. “It will be able to maintain the Corail wagons on line 1,” indicates Thibaud Philipps.
Management of the Technicentre will be entrusted to SNCF. Which means that the number of agents on site will certainly increase. The CGT des Cheminots estimates 350 railway workers on site in Chalindrey. Guillaume Pepy, then boss of the SNCF, announced in 2009 that the number of agents would drop to 250 in…2015.
Philippe Lagler
