A second section of the new generation overhead catenary system installed since September 2017 has now been activated by SNCF Réseau on the Lannemezan-Capvern rail stretch, part of the Tarbes-Montréjeau rail section. The overhead catenary system renovation project on the Tarbes-Montréjeau railway stretch, part of the Toulouse-Bayonne rail line, is undertaken by ENGIE Ineo and Colas Rail, since the end of 2016.
The contract involves gradually replacing the first-generation “Midi” catenary system, commissioned in the early 1920s, specific to the southwest of France, with a reinforced overhead catenary system capable of supporting currents closer to the voltage generated on the LGV high-speed rail lines (25,000 volts). The Cu-AC 150 mm² reinforced normal “Midi” catenary system is thus replaced with a CSRR (Caténaire Simple Régularisée Renforcée, reinforced regularized single catenary) TSI system. Deployed for the first time on a line of this importance, this new technology meets the requirements of the French government’s objectives concerning the restoration and modernisation of the country’s existing transportation network.
“In order to install this new catenary system, we had to implement some rather unusual resources. These notably included catenary platforms and a concrete train, which had not been used for at least a decade. We are proud to contribute the expertise and skills of our teams to a project of this magnitude,” said Thaddee Pattyn, in charge of this project at ENGIE Ineo with Colas Rail.
The first phase of the new catenary system was commissioned in December 2017 on the Montréjeau-Lannemezan stretch. The third and last phase is due to take place from September 2018 to early February 2019 between Capvern and Tarbes, representing a stretch of 30 km of double track.
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