SNCF Class Z 22500

The SNCF Class Z 22500, also known as the MI 2N Éole, is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit operated on RER E, part of the Réseau Express Régional serving Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France region. It is the SNCF version of the MI 2N series and closely resembles the MI 2N Altéo variant operated by the RATP Group, although the two differ in motorization and interior layout. A total of 43 five-car trainsets were built by a consortium of Alstom, then GEC Alsthom, and Bombardier, with final assembly at Alstom's facility in Valenciennes and Bombardier's plant in Crespin between 1997 and 2000, and the first unit entered service in 1997. Each trainset is 112 metres long and can carry up to 2,600 passengers, including approximately 1,100 seated. The Z 22500 has two motors where the Altéo has three, and removes the stairs to the upper deck from the centre vestibule, adding 22 seats per train. The trains entered service on the Paris-Saint-Lazare network from September 1998 and moved to the RER E before its opening in July 1999.