The first VAL metro line in Rennes, the provincial capital of Brittany in northwestern France, was inaugurated on Friday, March 15, 2002. Covering a total of 9.4 kilometers, the line will be operated with sixteen VAL 208 trains, linking the northwest district of Rennes with the southeast in just 16 minutes. Each train is made up of two vehicles and has a capacity of 158 passengers (108 standing and 50 seated). The line is expected to carry 77,300 passengers daily.

The new VAL line will serve 15 stations (two above ground and 13 under ground), linking John F. Kennedy station in the northwest district of Rennes with La Poterie station in the southeast. VAL – Véhicule Automatique Léger or light automatic vehicle – is a fully automated, unattended metro system developed by Siemens Transportation Systems (STS), Paris. Train operation is supervised from an operation control center (OCC). STS, a French subsidiary fully affiliated with the Transportation Systems Group (TS) of Siemens AG, acted as general contractor for the entire project. The VAL 208 vehicles were built at the Siemens SGP plant in Vienna, Austria.

First introduced in Lille, France, in 1983 (where two lines totaling 45 km in length make up the world's largest fully automatic network), VAL trains also operate in Taipei, Taiwan and in Toulouse, France (where the current line is being extended and a second line will enter service in 2007). 2005 will see Turin, Italy, inaugurate its first VAL line. VAL trains also serve Paris-Orly and Chicago-O'Hare airports. Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport has also chosen VAL (with start of revenue service scheduled for 2005).

Photographs:
You will find a picture in the Internet at: www.siemens.com/ts-picture/016