France: The American manufacturer says that it has used new friction materials in brake pads, which are to reduce particle emissions by 70–90% when braking. The new technology was dubbed Green Friction.
Its implementation would improve the air quality in tunnels. In Paris, the technology will be deployed on the 108.5 km RER A Line, which stretches from the suburbs through the centre of Paris, where trains run and stop at underground stations.
The technology has been tested for a year on some of the trains, with work on it starting in 2019. Following the tests, the city and regional transport operators, RATP and IdFM, declared Wabtec’s technology effective.
New brake pads Green Friction from Wabtec. Source: Wabtec
From this year onwards, the new brake pads will be installed on all double-deck MI 09 X’Trapolis trains, produced by Alstom and Bombardier Transportation in 2010–2017. In total, there are 140 such five-car vehicles operating on the RER A.
