Consistent strive to efficiency of the Paris metro

It's the weekend and time for #trains!

Here's the MI 2N "Altéo" a dual-voltage EMU from Alstom and Bombardier that serves the busiest rail line, RER A, in France and possibly Europe.

I'm impressed with the efficiency at which the Paris metro runs. Before the MI 2N, single-decker MS 61 trainsets were used. The SACEM, a speed train protection system, was rolled out in the 1980s to allow shorter gaps between trains allowing for higher frequency on those trains.

The MI 2N were put in service in 1997 to address capacity constraints of the MS 61. The total passenger capacity went up from roughly 1,800 to 2,600 per train.

To address even more passengers the MI09 were ordered, from Alstom and Bombardier, and put in service in 2011 retiring the MS 61. The MI09 was an iteration over the MI 2N and included some improvements such as preventative maintenance measures and a redesigned interior.

If that wasn't enough, in 2018 an ATO system, from Alstom, was introduced to allow for a higher density of trains on track and a more punctual timetable. First fitted on an MI09 and then rolled out to the rest of the fleet, both MI09 and MI 2N trainsets, along the central core.