En immersion avec un conducteur de train de fret sur la ligne Ambérieu en Bugey – Evian

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Alexandre is a freight train driver at Regiorail. I boarded the cabin with him to accompany him on one of his many missions. We have just left Ambérieu-en-Bugey, in Ain, to reach Publier in Haute-Savoie, where the Evian water bottling plants are located. Every day, including weekends,

3 to 4 round trips are made between the two sites. In this direction of circulation, it is a question of bringing back the trains of empty wagons to the factory, in the other, of taking trains loaded with bottles of water which will leave towards England and the

Mediterranean after having been sorted in Ambérieu. The line being electrified from end to end, it is a BB 27300 type locomotive from the Prima family which has just joined the ranks of Régiorail after having spent the first part of its career at the head of Transiliens,

Passenger trains circulating in the Paris region, which will provide this service. A new immersion into the daily life of a freight train driver. This week, I offer you the first part of a report produced just before the holidays. That explains the Christmas tree that you will see in a few moments in the

Régiorail premises on the Ambérieu base. Hello and welcome to Aiguillages ! Hello Alexandre. Hello Thierry. We didn’t necessarily choose the right day for the weather, but at the moment, it’s not necessarily a sure thing. So where are we here? So here, we are at the Régiorail Agency in Ambérieu-en-Bugey,

So we are at the place of duty for the drivers and living space for the agents who work here. We see that Christmas is being prepared here as elsewhere. Exactly, the holidays are coming. What are we going to do today ? Because I came here to go a little way

With you. Where are we going, where are we going to go? What are we going to do ? So today, we are going to make a return trip to the Evian factory. So we leave Ambérieu with an empty oar. We arrive at Evian, we put down the empty train,

We put the machine on a loaded train and we return to Ambérieu at the end of the day. So maybe we’ll go see the machine. Are we going to go into the field? Quite. Let’s go. So this is the old triage, well, still the Ambérieu triage? This is all that is…

All the beams of Ambérieu are here. We have the connection beam which is here between the historic Lyon – Geneva lines and the Ambérieu-Mâcon line. So the connection. Then, over there, at the back, we have the reception beam for the trains coming from Modane, historically,

That was it. In the middle, we have the beam called “Relais Lyon”, four fully electrified tracks for changing machines going to Lyon. Behind, there is the marshalling yard with around forty tracks, the depot which is in the middle of the triangle and

On the other side, over there on the Lyon side. It is a beam which is not connected on the Lyon side which goes towards Lagnieu. It is the beam which is called waiting at the start and therefore, it is the last beam of Ambérieu. So it’s right behind the station.

And so behind the machine, yours, can we see it here? Yes then not yet! It is just behind the train which is at the “Relais Lyon” section which is just behind the main tracks. So we have the four-track “Relais Lyon” beam, three tracks which are permanently on Régiorail. There are

Around fifteen tracks which are at Fret SNCF behind on the marshalling beam and then, there are another twenty tracks which are at Régiorail. So that’s the entire marshalling beam and what’s more, behind it, there are still four tracks which are at the Infra. So,

There is a coincidence of activity between all the railway companies. So these are the main routes between Lyon and Geneva that we will cross. So that’s the three tracks that are at Régiorail where there are the gas wagons up to the track called 22 and our locomotive is on track 20, 27 312!

These are the old machines that arrive from the Paris region. Is the locomotive there? And the oar? And the oar is down there at the bottom. So the first mission this morning will be to prepare the machine and once it is ready,

We announce ourselves with the positions and we go directly to the train that is there to make a header. And after brake tests and here we go! And the oar that is there on the right? Is she waiting to get onto the

Main track? Yeah, so that’s a train that will be heading to Geneva, so it will leave almost an hour before us, then we will follow it to Bellegarde. Then, at Bellegarde, we will change direction. That makes it work eh! Yes, well, you saved us a bit anyway! Yes,

It’s true ! We drove a little bit. And there, do you have lanes on which you specifically park the machines? Yes then, as on these three tracks, you can see just behind, they are more electrified, in fact we only have three tracks which are partially electrified, where we can put up to four

Track head machines and that’s it. So we put all the electrics here and all the diesels that are down there at the bottom. So we don’t have many diesels in Ambérieu, so the advantage is that all the machines are here most of the time.

As a result, at Régiorail, everything is dematerialized. The logbook is computerized. We are on 27,312. What are you going to check there? That the machine is allowed to go online. Any faults it may have. There, for example, we only have one fault

With the two HS cabin windshield wipers. So what are they telling us about restrictions? Leave the tap closed. Open only when it rains when driving post two. So, this will be the case today. So, there it is, it will be on the other side on the way back,

That’s all. So the machine can go online. Yes, is she suitable? So ! So, now I’m going to take a tour of the machine with all the tests that need to be done. If there are things that have gone wrong in the meantime, I make reports and if

There is nothing to report, then we can leave directly. First thing to do is a little tour outside. We check that the machine is under catenary, that there are no signals on and that everything is on its support. The presence of possible wedges, as will be the case here.

So, there, suddenly, it’s gathering information more than anything else. Once it has been put in the cabin, carry out the tests, once the tests are conclusive, when we know that the machine brakes correctly. I’ll remove the wedges. Are the wedges systematically put on when they remain for a certain time? When the machine

Is left alone. We put wooden blocks. When it is coupled to other machines, we put the blocks on the first machine. Finally, the first one to arrive. And when she is coupled to an oar which is abandoned here, the oar is stuck. The machine does not.

So there are rules that are specific to each site. So. I have to go get the key and then we can start the machine. There, I check that no disruptor is triggered. Battery voltage greater than 80 volts. Then it goes to the pneumatic panel.

There you see, we have a brake fault. But the brake fault is not picked up in the cabin so it is a fault, I would say computer fault. As for me, as long as I don’t have information in the cabin,

I don’t have a real fault. Everything is in service. These two are the direct brake, they are sealed and in service, the emergency brake valve is sealed and in service. There, we have two taps which are sealed in service, and the last one which is there, sealed in service. Then,

We are on travelers, this is the valve that we turn when we do push or double pull. Is that what you call routine preparation? Is that what you’re doing? So normally, it’s… All the procedures are marked in a document, the

Locomotive operating manual, and by doing it, you end up knowing it by heart. So, we are authorized to do without it, but on condition that we are sure of what we are doing. Not to forget anything. So, we said… The locomotive state is done, it’s done… Raise the

Normal pantograph. So, here, we are in Ambérieu, we are under 1500 volts, normal pantograph, the S is for Emergency. There, what we hear is the little horse, it is a small auxiliary compressor which is used to raise the pantograph, when the pressure

Is less than 5 bars in the machine’s tanks. So, there, we see that we are at 1 bar 1, it’s a little low, so in about thirty seconds the pantograph will have risen. How many pantographs do you have on these machines? We have two pantographs, a

Normal 1500 volt pantograph, and a normal 25,000 volt pantograph. Both can be used as backup for the other voltage if necessary. We’re leaving for a little cycle. So, there we have the online tension that is arriving. It’s green-yellow-red, the entire green portion

Corresponds to 1100 volts up to 2000 volts, yellow, it’s from 1100 to 800 volts of memory, and below 800 volts it goes into the red. So the goal is to prevent it from going yellow . There, we have authorization to close the circuit breaker… The circuit breaker is closed…

And the fact that you close the circuit breaker does it serve you what purpose? So, closing the circuit breaker allows the entire locomotive to be supplied with high voltage current. We had low voltage with the battery at approximately 110 volts, this can go down to 80 volts,

And from the moment the circuit breaker is closed, we can supply all the high voltage in the machine, therefore the motors if ever necessary, the power supply of the auxiliaries, therefore the ventilation, the cabin heating, the train heating if necessary on these machines, the compressor which can run and the battery charge.

There, you see, we start to have pressure, so we can suddenly operate the windshield wipers. I supply the locomotive with air… On the other hand, what I will order each time is the equalizing tank. Every action I

Do in there is going to be reflected in the CG. CG is general conduct. General Pipe, it is a pipe which starts from the front of the machine and which goes to the rear of the train. All the vehicles are connected, and this is what controls the train. The operating pressure,

That is to say the operating pressure, is approximately 5 bars, each machine is calibrated at plus or minus 5 bars. There, we see that we are a bit more… When we are at 5 bars normally all the brakes must be released. So, the brakes are on because I

Asked for it. If I ask… For the locomotive brake to be released… So, there, I leave 1 bar to avoid drifting, and I order a depression in my RE which is reflected in my CG, we see that the pressure in the brake cylinders

Rises. So we apply the brakes. To release, a rise in pressure is ordered in the main pipe, and the pressure in the brake cylinders drops. So the first thing to do on all machines, most of the time, will be to supply air to the brakes,

Wait until the machine is properly filled with all the equipment, and while filling the main tank, we check the equipment, the fire extinguishers… So, most of the time, it’s the dates, the sealing. There, I check for the presence of

Flags, firecrackers, there are 6 of them, torches… That could be useful to you in the event of a problem… In the event of an incident, let’s say. An obstacle on the tracks, whatever the nature of the obstacle, maybe even my train which could become an obstacle if I ever derail or anything

… Normally, we have the radio. If on the radio we are told that protection cannot be provided to us, for x reasons, it is up to us to provide protection with all this equipment. So,

That’s why you have to check that they are at least up to date, because if they are more up to date, we cannot guarantee their operation. So, in an emergency situation, it could be damaging. Okay, now I’m going to enter my data. So, here, we have an ATES type static recorder,

That is to say that on the old machines, we had graphic tapes, today, we have gone completely computerized, we will look at everything later. what time does it look like… And so , I have to enter my data for the upcoming train. The departure is Ambérieu,

Place of arrival Publier, then the real name is ITE SAE ME ( Evian Mineral Water Terminal Installation ) and it will depend on the perimeter of the Publier station. Train number is 61505, and the weights, I’ll enter them later. Brake tests and tests… We

Start with the seals. So, the seals are stable here. Everything is marked in yellow: ensure that the CG is greater than or equal to 5 bars, we are good, place Z neutral on 1, Z neutral, that’s it, we switch it to 1. The blue light comes on .

The neutral is in operation, and we can start the test. It goes away for a minute. So this is a first test which only concerns the machine since for the moment we have nothing hooked? And will you do the same thing again once you have hooked up your oar? Exactly,

The main tank part, equalizer tank, we’ll see just after, it’s only for Current Preparation, on the other hand, on the general pipe which will therefore be connected to the entire train, yes, it will be important to review it After. So we will have values ​​which will come out shortly. We must not exceed

0.15 for RP and 0.30 for CG. If it exceeds, the test is not conclusive, and the machine is therefore not operational. So, we are below 0.15, there, it has not changed so we

Are more than good, we are going to move to the RE (Equalizing Reservoir). The yellow square tells us what to do. Place neutral Z at 0. The indicator light goes out and a vacuum of 1 bar is applied. Depression of 1 bar… we launch the test and there

It goes again for 1 minute, and the maximum value will be 0.15. These are things that are done each time before using the machine again? Before each service, do you repeat these tests? Normally this is every 24 hours. So, as soon as the 24 hours are up, we’re supposed to start again. Yes,

It’s not by service, or mileage. No, it’s really 24 calendar hours. 0.8 for 0.15, we’re good. END ! We move on to conjugation. So that’s something specific to this machine. Release the direct brake. So, there, we had a first

Depression like that, we are sure not to drift away. Having a first depression is done! Put the diet on V. We have the diet, it’s on travelers, it’s already good. So we can continue. Launch of the test! Apply service braking. Delta CG 1.5 bar. 1

Bar 5, depression achieved, wait… Press the Urge BP (Emergency Push Button), ensure the CG and RE are drained. So, that’s the one we’re going to test. Draining the CG, the RE follows… As soon as it goes below 1 bar, we have authorization to raise the BP Urge,

So we have been asked for a complete drain, so we will wait. Complete draining is done! We go up the BP Urge. We are waiting for re-feeding at 3 bars. Conjugation test OK, we’re good, we can move on. On the operator’s manual, the next operation

Is to test the same emergency push button, but on the other side, since there are two on this machine. So we come here and… we check the same thing. So, in terms of brakes, we’re good, we’re going to take the VACMA test. First thing to do, get picked up at release,

So there we have, SOS VAC which gives us the indication that we have been picked up by an automation, the VACMA in this case (Automatic Standby Support Maintenance Control ). I can close the circuit breaker. I can re-energize the air line and

Cancel the feedback that can be made via the radio to the regulator. And now I wait 55 seconds for the AC sound to sound. So ! The test is conclusive. So, I either have the two little things that are there, it’s tactile,

Or I have the pedal… It’s the famous dead man’s system. Then, suddenly, the VACMA test was done! We move on to KVB. Here, it’s a somewhat special KVB, it’s what we call versions 6. So, we don’t have all the feedback like we had on the old

Versions. On the other hand, suddenly, when we have emergency braking, before we just had the little light which was displayed here, now we have the FU in addition (Emergency Braking). So I press the “Test” button, all the lights come on, and there, I have the FU which is on. It stays on

Until I have authorization to close the circuit breaker. Next, we will do the traction test. So, maximum tightening, I release the direct brake. I set a direction. I ask for a little traction and it will go up to around 25%. And I have to check

That the machine doesn’t leave. So I check the operation of the traction motors. There, I have no particular indication, the traction motors are working, and at the same time, I am checking the effectiveness of the braking. So I did forward direction, now

We’re switching to reverse direction. Same operation. So, here I am good. I leave the driving cabin, I activate emergency, last outside turn and then afterwards, we’ll announce ourselves. And now we go around the rolling elements, the suspension part,

The same thing here. We check the general appearance of the machine, the sand fall pipes, the filling of the sand pits. We’re going to go around to the front to make sure everything is on its support. The state, general buffers, everything that is shock and traction organ, then take a

Quick trip to the transformer to check that there is no oil leak, operate the sand pits, and then afterward, once we’ve done the trick, we’re good! Yes, hello PMI, it’s Régiorail. I’m at track twenty, two zeros. I have

An electric machine to go up to the head of 61 505 which is on track 316, therefore on the P4 side. Come on, it works, when the signal opens. I thank you ! Hi ! There, you call the Ambérieu station, so a local station eh? So on

Ambérieu, it’s very special because there is almost a position dedicated to each function. That is to say that just to manage this part, there are at least two positions and then when we go to the main ones, there is one of the positions which will manage the beam and one

Of the positions which will manage the main routes. So the post which will manage the main ones is post 3 which is right here in bricks and we are controlled here for the maneuver by the small post which is next to the signal over there, next to the train. There is station C

Which will manage the beam needles and the PMI which will manage the beam needles which is over there. On the other side of this beam, there is another station called station H and on

Ambérieu, we have station 1 and station 2 which manage the station and station 5 which manages the Bourg-en side. -Bresse. So, you asked that the path be made for you? What will allow you to know that it is done and that you can start to move?

So, suddenly, here, there are two conditions: the opening of the group signal, it is a purple square which will change to the white light, and for my lane, just next to the chevron pointing upwards, I I have a TLC (Correspondence Light Board) and suddenly this one

Will light up with a T which will light up white. There are two conditions for me to leave. The white T must be lit for my lane, and I, the driver, must have the theme of the maneuver. The theme of the maneuver is to leave this track

To go to the front of my train. If one of the two pieces of information is missing, I won’t move! So the information was given to me by the ground agent who prepared the train, who told me where my engine was located and where my train was located.

Is that what allows you to ask for a route to the station? That’s it ! Well, there, a priori, we are not going to move right away since you have one of your colleagues who is in the process of maneuvering.

This is a maneuver by another EF (Railway Company). The advantage is that on this side, there can be almost three maneuvers at the same time. There may be one on the “Relais Lyon” beam, one on this… We call it a comb,

It’s this part up to the building that is there. And on the other side of the building, there may be another maneuver also underway. We feel that Ambérieu was a big sorting center which has lost a little since then. But with the hump, there was a time,

The rabbits, little yellow carts which were between the two tracks, which came to pick up the wagons which were dropped from the hump up there. They took them to contact the other wagon which was on the train and they came to look for another wagon which was launched from the hump.

The bump no longer works today? The bump no longer works. Today, there are not many sites in France where there are operating bumps. On the other hand, the little rabbits, what they called the little carts, there are two of them which are kept at the

Railway museum in Ambérieu and they explain how this system works. For all that, time still passes quite quickly. Yes, quite a bit to do and I still have half an hour to test the brakes. If I move now, it should be good. I’ll just call my ground agent to come on the train.

Is that you I just saw coming up there? OK perfect ! Well, I announced myself there, it won’t be long before I arrive on the train. It’ll work just now. So, as a result, we have the opening of the signal down there at the bottom.

Yes. The presentation of the white T. So, suddenly, it’s open for me. I can go. From now on, Alexandre will engage in what is called a maneuver march, an operation during which the driver is forbidden to speak. So I’m going to give you

Some explanations in its place in voiceover. As this is his first time in motion, Alexandre cuts the traction fairly early, taking the time to check in particular that the automatic standby is working correctly and also that there is no resistance to advancement when moving. a

Maneuver, the engineer advances taking into account the part of the track that he can see in front of him, without exceeding the speed of 30 kilometers per hour, and being ready to stop in front of a train tail or a signal closed. A phrase that drivers learn

By heart in driving school. In this type of situation, rail safety relies on compliance with regulations. No device will make up for the mistakes that a mechanic would make. Crossing a closed signal, for example. The ground agent who

Will carry out the brake test is at the foot of the train that Alexandre will collect. Regarding a composition that arrived yesterday in the middle of the day, a continuity brake test will suffice. It will be used to check the tightening and loosening of the last vehicle and that there

Is indeed air arriving at the end of the pipe. If so, the team will then assume that the brakes are working on the entire rest of the train. In accordance with what the regulations provide. We are going back up the train, which is 578 meters long,

To get to a drawer, a short track ending on a knocker which will allow us to change ends to get back to the front of the wagons to be taken. This whole train is empty. It was unloaded in the Fos-sur-Mer complex. This mission is

Carried out entirely by Regiorail, which provides the shuttle between the bottling plant and Ambérieu where the trains are reworked, then their traction to Fos-sur-Mer, where they are emptied during the day. The wagons unloaded the day before are reassembled by the locomotive which has just arrived with a

Full train and reassembled at Ambérieu, from where other trains leave for a logistics platform located only two kilometers away, but also much further away. far away, towards Antwerp, Belgium and England for example. With the white T and the white light lit,

The way is open to enter the dead end. We will follow the same path that we will take to leave online earlier, with the difference that, of course, the needle will be turned so that we can leave on the main routes. Alexandre will

Now have to clear a purple square presented for the other direction of travel. He will then turn off his machine, change ends, put his locomotive back into service and once the purple square has changed to white, head towards the wagons to be coupled. So what does he do now?

So he is going to check the tightness of the last vehicle. Once it’s done, it will open the shut-off valve. So it’s a quarter turn valve. It will therefore remove the air which is located in the CG. So, there, we see, it’s starting to go down and we have to

Check the continuous and complete clear leakage of the CV, it has to reach zero, as there are almost 700 meters of train, So, it’s a little long, but it’s not… It’s not worrying. Once it reaches zero, it gives me the order to re-energize the pipe and it

Tells him, when he hears the air coming, he will be able to close his shut-off valve. I re-energize the brakes up to five bars with the overload suddenly, because I had it earlier and then he will check the release of the last vehicle.

Once this is done, we can consider that the brake test is finished and conclusive. So here it just got to zero. Yes ! I wait about seven seconds and refeed. Seven seconds. It’s about the train length that’s in there. Basically, we consider

100 meters to be one second. The time for the air to spread throughout the pipe. That’s the train passing us. So, normally, as soon as we are ready, we announce ourselves and we leave. So, here we are two minutes from departure, right? That’s it, even one minute from the start!

And there you still have a wedge to remove? That’s it ! So that means we’re still not too bad, but it won’t go away in time. We will try to recover online. I have to send the train information to SNCF Réseau and then we’ll be good.

So the brake test is over. I’m going to move forward a little to remove the wedge with the direction still in motion. Normally, that’s enough! 61,505 for Ambérieu Poste three. Good morning ! I’m listening to you !

Hi P3, I’m announcing train 61505 on track 316 good for access to the network. Yours ! Look, it’s noted, I’ll see when I can send you. It’s well received! Good day ! Finished ! That’s what we call a furrow, right? That’s it ! When he talks about inserting you,

It’s because, in fact, he’s going to have to… Since there’s a little delay, he’s going to see if he sends me right away or if he waits for a later date . availability. I’m setting up. Well yes, do it! I have two and a half years left!

The same thing as just now, is enough to react to the signal which is closed over there, The purple square which is over there, it will open normally, what we call the block, semaphore, warning or free way. And the TLC which will light up for me with a white light,

Finally a half-white, half-green plate which will flash. This will be my authorization to move. Suddenly, I am no longer a laborer. I am a train. Yes, is the movement authorization because you are leaving on a main track? That’s it ! The maneuvering machine… G1206, so that’s a Régiorail machine.

And what are they doing there? There, they have just made a train available, I think it’s the one that leaves at 1 p.m., so perfect. There are several trains that leave Evian every day? There are at least three trains that leave Evian every day. At least,

Of which most of the time two which are with the locomotives in the lead and push. This one which has just been made available, which leaves at 1:30 p.m., I believe, it returns at almost 10 p.m. Service days in Evian are quite long. Yes, however, it’s not very very far.

There is another train coming, this one is going to have a growth. He has to return with at least 26/28 wagons so it’s huge when you think that they are full and full of bottles of water. Yes, it’s still a burden! The weight of the cargo alone is approximately 1100 tonnes. Yes,

It’s huge, it doubles the weight of the train. Suddenly , you see, there is Régiorail in every direction. Yes that, what I see, there is the train which has just arrived from Evian and there, it is the train which has just arrived from Fos.

And there, suddenly, you see, it’s starting to take shape for us. In my opinion, we’re going to go there! So I have authorization to move… And here we are finally off! And did you imagine that it took so long to

Prepare a train and that there were so many operations to carry out before hitting the rails? Tell me in comments. In the next issue of Aiguillages, I will offer you the rest of this report, in which we will only ride, I promise. We will join the

Main tracks, we will pass a section in IPCS, that is to say that we will temporarily drive on the right track instead of the left, we will cross the Annemasse station which is the second in France after that of Rennes to have adopted the 2 Trains on the Same Track system,

I refer you for more details on this subject to the report broadcast in the previous issue of Aiguillages, and we will finally arrive at the client’s site near Evian. Throughout the journey, Alexandre will explain the signs he encounters and the

Driving actions he uses. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see all this!