SNCF Class Z 23500

The SNCF Class Z 23500, also called TER 2N, is a class of double-deck electric multiple units operated in France, built by GEC-Alstom and Ateliers du Nord de la France, which later became Bombardier, for SNCF and used on the TER network. Each set has two double-deck coaches, and 80 units were built from 1997 after the regions of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ordered 80 trainsets of 160 cars from GEC-Alsthom and ANF in 1995. The design is based on half of a four-car Z 20500 train with upgraded engines and amenities, better seats and air conditioning. GEC-Alsthom proposed an IGBT based traction system called ONIX with three-phase asynchronous motors in place of the original GTO design, tested on a Z 20500 between 1996 and 1997 and nicknamed ADONIX. The first three pre-series trains were delivered in autumn 1997 and the first series train entered service on 15 February 1998. SNCF completed a refurbishment programme of all of its Z 23500 sets in September 2022.