RATP Dev, the international arm of Paris-based mass transit operator RATP Group, is calling on its established Australian team and successful track record in smooth brownfield rail takeovers and operational excellence across 17 countries to write the next chapter for users of Melbourne’s metropolitan rail network.
As contenders for the MR5 train franchise – the contract to run Melbourne’s trains – take their marks, RATP Dev’s team spoke to Rail Express about their approach and credentials.
“We know that every network has its own character and priorities,” said Emilie Lacroix, RATP Dev Bid Director for MR5.
“Our role is to listen, to share our experience where it can add value, and to work in partnership to support Victoria’s vision for public transport.”
Lacroix highlighted that RATP Dev’s Australian team, with its combination of global experience and local knowledge, is a key element in the equation.
“Our team on the ground in Melbourne has first-hand insight into Victorians’ expectations for their rail network, as well as firmly-established operational credentials around the world,” she said.
A track record on Europe’s busiest commuter rail lines
RATP Dev Technical Director Mathilde Mahaut, who grew up in Melbourne, has been back on home ground for the past couple of years, bringing with her more than 15 years of operational experience at RATP Group.
Mahaut has held senior roles on Paris’s RER A (Réseau Express Régional) – Europe’s busiest commuter line – and on the city’s 30-kilometre-long north to south automated Metro Line 14.
“The results of our experience on RER A transporting 1.3 million passengers per day on a 109-kilometre high-density line says a lot,” said Mahaut.
“We achieved headways as short as two minutes and 20 seconds, a 10 per cent ridership bump and a 10-point increase in punctuality during peak hours, thanks to measures including a timetable redesign, deployment of Automatic Train Operation (ATO), the commissioning of high-capacity double-deck trains, and the opening of a new centralised control centre.”
RER A also included landmark infrastructure upgrades such as the renewal of 24 kilometres of track and 27 switchgears between 2015 and 2021. Undertaken in a tunnel with limited access, the works were staged progressively during summer periods, supported by reinforced metro services and a coordinated public information campaign to minimise disruption.
Mathilde works closely with Denis Masure, who has spent the past six years in Australia as RATP Dev’s Country Manager following 15 years in Paris, where he served as Head of RER B, Europe’s second busiest commuter rail line. The RER B spans 80 kilometres of track and carries one million daily passenger journeys, with an annual ridership growth rate of 2.5 per cent under his leadership.
“Hands-on experience on high-capacity and high-frequency networks proves invaluable time and time again in delivering results,” said Masure.
“RATP Dev Australia’s team features Operations and Maintenance (O&M) experts with serious experience here and overseas in enhancing operations, maintenance and passenger experience.
“Our skillsets include minimising life-cycle costs and deploying game-changing digital technology like Maint’Up.”
The latter is a single interface platform for supervising all network equipment and offering complete control over often underexploited data scattered across multiple platforms, thereby optimising equipment reliability and availability, energy consumption and performance management.
Denis Masure also emphasised the RATP Group’s precinct development expertise, focused on integrating transport hubs with affordable housing and community infrastructure.
“We care about the communities we serve, so it’s only natural to share our best practices in addressing cost of living and real estate pressures, which are a common feature of the cities and regions where we operate.”
Lyon: a seamless takeover
In the world of public transport operations, few challenges rival the complexities of taking control of an existing transit network while maintaining service continuity.
RATP Dev has a proven track record of delivering smooth network takeovers on O&M contracts with the seamless integration of 15,000 staff and hundreds of trainsets and stations in recent years. RATP Dev’s most recent takeover experience includes the metro, tram, and rail operations of Lyon’s TCL (Transports en Commun à Lyon) network – the largest in France after Paris – in January 2025, following a tender process conducted by the public transport authority for the Lyon metropolitan area.
The takeover featured significant challenges, including a long-established incumbent operator, strong union representation and a 50-year-old network presenting asset management and maintenance issues.
“Achieving a seamless takeover without disruption to passenger services required a well planned and executed mobilisation strategy,” observed Arnaud Legrand, Managing Director of RATP Dev Lyon, who also managed operations and development for the company in the United States of America and South Africa.
According to Legrand, RATP Dev applied hard and soft skills to make the transition a success.
“We’re well known for our technical expertise, especially in terms of asset management, and our ability to mobilise leadership teams and subject matter experts for mobilisation, transition, complex upcoming projects and unexpected challenges,” he said.
“We combined this with a strong local anchoring and collaborative approach for efficient dialogue with the transport authority and incumbent operator, transparent and open discussions with employees and early and constructive engagement with unions.”
After the contract award in 2024, RATP Dev immediately mobilised a dedicated transition team featuring highly experienced, locally-based professionals. This team then worked with the public transport authority and the incumbent operator over a ten-month period to ensure operational readiness.
The transition process included an initial preparation period to establish protocols and define key expectations from all parties. This was followed by a contractual mobilisation period including training, new system implementation, and organisational changes. Before the actual takeover on January 1, 2025, a final “switching plan”, including the transfer of key systems over a one-month period, ensured seamless service continuity.
To support the technical side of the transition, RATP Dev called on subject matter experts from RATP Group’s 2000-strong engineering team to contribute to areas including operations, asset management, passenger experience, health, safety, quality, and environment.
In parallel, the transition team prepared for staff transfer with a transparent approach, which included ongoing communication with employees via both on-site and voluntary meetings to explain the changes and hold Question and Answer sessions.
The team also worked hand-in-hand with the public transport authority to engage early and constructively with trade unions to foster trust and confidence. Legrand said this helped in ensuring a smooth transition by enabling the deployment of a full complement of staff from day one.
RATP Dev’s contract scope in Lyon includes technical support for line extensions and major improvement projects, including line automation and re-signalling. During mobilisation, the transition team presented a robust and detailed staffing plan involving RATP Dev’s experts and specialists to manage the workload and upskill existing Lyon network engineering staff with additional expertise and proven methodologies. Since the handover, the team has seen a significant increase in the number of senior local full-time resources through seconded RATP experts.
Legrand said stakeholder reactions after RATP Dev’s operational takeover included kudos from the public transport authority on the smooth transition, as well as from personnel who quickly adapted to the change in operator.
The results highlighted the success of RATP Dev’s structured methodology, enriched by lessons learned from previous successful transitions in locations including Egypt, France, Italy and Hong Kong.
“In brownfield transitions, meticulous planning – beginning months before the official handover – and staying ahead on stakeholder engagement are crucial,” Legrand said.
“RATP Dev’s successful takeover track record demonstrates the value of multi-phase strategies overseen by a dedicated transition team with experts on hand, as well as proactivity and sensitivity in discussions with all stakeholders.
“This is how we ensure takeovers involve no missed connections and no service gaps for passengers.”
