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Renovation of the Drancy sorting area, the first milestone in a major project

Publié le 25 January 2022

DAs part of the SDMR (Rolling Stock Master Plan) project, the Île-de-France region has acquired new trains for the RER B and D lines. Putting them into service requires numerous adjustments to the network. SNCF Réseau has therefore called on the teams at ETF Génie Civil to carry out four years of work to adapt the platforms at the stations concerned.

To carry out this project, they will be able to count on the synergy of the Group and, in particular, on the support of the ETF Paris-Nord teams, who will carry out the associated track work. They have also renovated the tracks in a storage area at Drancy station for the SDMR project.

Refurbishment of the Drancy marshalling yard

A dozen operational staff were mobilised between early December 2021 and mid-January 2022 to refurbish the Drancy storage area, also known as Parc Caténaires. Initially used as a depot for a Grand Paris Express construction site, this area has been completely renovated thanks to:

  • the replacement of 750 metres of track and ballast,
  • the replacement of ballast and timber for five sets of points
  • and the removal of two sets of points.

The Paris-Nord sector teams were able to count on a civil engineering team who came to build a concrete platform to facilitate the passage of machinery.

Recovery of materials

In collaboration with the SNCF Réseau Equipment Department, this project relied on a system for recovering and reusing track components. As trains travel at very low speeds on service tracks, their renewal is conducive to the circular economy, which consists of reusing materials that cannot be used on national rail network track construction sites. This principle makes it possible to limit waste production and reduce costs while complying with the network’s quality standards.

As a result, the 1,500 metres of rail, 1,300 sleepers and 2,000 tonnes of ballast required for the project were recovered from nearby sites by SNCF Réseau and made available to our operational teams.