Alstom celebrates the commissioning of the first two BEMUs in France
posted on 3rd Sep 2026 10:20
On 31 August 2026, Alstom celebrates the entry into service of the first two battery-powered regional trains (TER) in France, as part of a 41 million EUR national program funded by five regions (Occitanie, the Sud Region, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine), SNCF Voyageurs and Alstom.
Jean-Luc Gibelin, Vice-President of the Occitanie Region responsible for Mobility and Transport Infrastructure, representing Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region, Gaël Barbier, Regional Director of SNCF Voyageurs Occitanie, and Olivier Delecroix, Vice-President in charge of Marketing and Sales at Alstom France, attended the launch of Occitanie’s first BEMU on the Nîmes–Vauvert line.
This prototype liO train marks a new stage in the efforts of the Region and its partners to decarbonise transportation, develop solutions tailored to non-electrified lines and strengthen rail transport provision across the region.
With this trial, Occitanie is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation and the energy transition. Already involved in trialling a trimode (electric, diesel, battery) Régiolis hybrid train on the Toulouse rail network and soon to be equipped with hydrogen-powered Régiolis trains on the Montréjeau–Luchon line, the Occitanie Region is the first region in France to trial three technologies aimed at reducing the use of diesel in rail transport: hybrid, battery and hydrogen.
The Sud Region BEMU is in service on the Avignon - Carpentras line
Since 28 July 2026, the Sud Region first battery-powered regional train has been operating commercially on the line between Avignon and Carpentras. Operated by SNCF Voyageurs TER Sud, this train runs on electric power on sections of the line equipped with overhead lines, then switches to battery power at Sorgues station to run on its batteries as far as Carpentras, on the non-electrified section of the line.
Committed to ever more sustainable mobility, the Sud Region is continuing its strategy for the ecological transformation of regional rail transport by investing in innovative solutions. The introduction of this battery-powered train marks a new step in this ambition by providing a concrete response to the challenges of decarbonising lines that are not fully electrified.
The first two 100% battery-powered TER trains operating in France
These two launches form part of a national program involving five regions (Occitanie, Sud Region, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France and Nouvelle-Aquitaine), SNCF Voyageurs and Alstom, which aims to trial the first generation of battery-powered rolling stock on a national scale. These first two trains in service are intended to test the performance of this technology under real operating conditions and to identify the conditions for its deployment on non-electrified regional lines.
Created by converting two existing high-capacity AGC units, the battery-powered regional trains brought into service in Occitanie and in the Sud region have been fitted with lithium-ion batteries to replace their diesel engines, offering a range of over 80 km. Energy generated during braking is also recovered and stored in the batteries, enabling energy savings of up to 20 %. This development also offers passengers greater comfort on board thanks to a quieter train.
This programme to develop battery-powered regional trains represents a total investment of over 41 million EUR:
- 30 million EUR provided by the five partner regions,
- 6 million EUR from SNCF Voyageurs
- 5.5 million EUR by Alstom.
