RENFE train at Plouaret, Brittany.

[j2002]

Morning all. Was travelling through Plouaret on a TGV earlier this week and saw a RENFE train. Does anyone know about what this unit is doing in Brittany? Thank you

 

[Gloster]

Shuntage is not shunting in the normal railway sense, but something related to electrical conductivity between axles. (I wouldn’t understand it in English either.) The Guingamp-Plouaret-Morlaix section has been adapted for such tests.

 

[stuving]

Shuntage is not shunting in the normal railway sense, but something related to electrical conductivity between axles. (I wouldn’t understand it in English either.) The Guingamp-Plouaret-Morlaix section has been adapted for such tests.

Déshuntage is the standard term for a train failing to activate a track circuit. Usually it happens with the lighter single-car trains, some of which have been banned from running singly as a result. So shuntage,while less common, refers to a train being a shunt, or low-resistance parallel path, between the rails.

 

[nwales58]

In addition, this is an Avril set so it is part of Talgo getting the sets certified for use France.

Can we work out whether the graffiti was applied in Spain or France? BiNiOU looks french to me but I'm no expert.

 

[Calthrop]

I am given to understand that biniou means "bagpipes" in Breton -- an instrument common in that part of the world, though sweeter- and gentler- sounding than the Scottish kind. This graffito thus likely applied while the unit has been in Brittany?

 

[30907]

In addition, this is an Avril set so it is part of Talgo getting the sets certified for use France.

I did for a moment wonder if it was a poisson d'Avril, given the date - but clearly not.

On the subject of tagging, would RENFE have allowed a tagged set across the border?

 

[nwales58]

I did for a moment wonder if it was a poisson d'Avril, given the date - but clearly not.

On the subject of tagging, would RENFE have allowed a tagged set across the border?

Avril is a multi-year joke, as you know (don't think the spanish do April fool's day though I could be wrong).

Talgo, rather than RENFE, are responsible for the certification work. The coaches have been standing around for months and years, I saw one at Fuencarral last year that looked awful - so thousands of RENFE customers a day were seeing it. A web search for 'Talgo Avril grafiti' throws up loads of pictures. Cleaning it all off must be part of the pre-delivery checks.

When, if ever, RENFE start leaving several sets overnight in Paris and Marseille I imagine the nice white body sides will get 'improved' frequently, much more suitable than SNCF's colours for making your mark on.

 

[dazzler]

I thought perhaps Talgo were branching out into the Belgian and Italian rolling stock markets and supplying stock pre-graffitied to save time later.

 

[Calthrop]

Avril is a multi-year joke, as you know (don't think the spanish do April fool's day though I could be wrong).

(Seems that I need to get a life) -- have discovered that indeed they don't. Nearest Spanish equivalent is Holy Innocents' Day, December 28th -- commemorating Herod's massacre of the children. A bit incongruously, it might seem: that day is marked in Spain by people playing jokes and pranks on each other, and generally acting the goat.