The strength of RATP Dev lies in the collaboration of its teams across the globe, contributing to the development of strong and reliable rail networks.
Managing more than 100 metro, bus and tram networks in 15 countries across five continents poses a number of challenges; however, RATP Group, the world’s third-largest urban transport operator understands its greatest asset is its people.
In addition to the essential technical and service expertise, what makes the difference is the RATP ‘human touch’ and a commitment to serving local communities.
Fabien Gervois, RATP Dev automated metro director, explained what the ‘human touch’ is for the world leader in high-capacity urban rail.
“Our teams play a role in every phase of a project and are structured into dedicated departments specifically designed to meet challenges. This problem-solving mindset is truly remarkable,” he said.
“Each individual specialises in a specific role – designer, installer, tester, operator, and more. Together, they create a strong foundation for offering an exceptional customer experience while preserving a high level of safety and performance.”
RATP Group is the only operator in the world that manages all modes of urban transport and across the entire value chain, from the design phase, studies and consultancy as an early operator to the operation and maintenance of complex networks.
With more than 2,000 engineers, RATP Group also has a vast pool of experts who specialise in all modes of transport.
This combined expertise enables RATP Group to effectively address all phases of a project across its international networks. Developing meaningful career paths strengthens the employees’ sense of pride and belonging.
From Riyadh to Sydney and Paris to Doha, bridges are being created, making the Group a global company, rich in international mobility.
A culture of sharing
Understanding the knowledge and experience of its teams is one of the organisation’s greatest strengths.
RATP Dev has created the Automated Metro Experts Club, a community of recognised and complementary experts, in order to share and capitalise on the Group’s knowledge and skills.
Born five years ago and inspired by the Tram Experts Club created in 2015, the Automated Metro Experts Club helps members innovate and improve their networks by using their deep understanding of equipment, infrastructure and operations and maintenance for international clients.
The 37 members of this club have complementary roles such as directors of existing and under construction automated metro lines, engineers, business developers, project managers, and technical experts. The club is across all driverless operations including Paris historic network.
Members have extensive proven knowledge and have finetuned their skills thanks to the Group’s internal career evolution scheme, which enables RATP Dev to cultivate unique profiles.
Bid technical director of RATP Dev Australia, Mathilde Mahaut, has been working for 18 years within the RATP Group.
She drew on her professional experiences thanks to numerous internal transfers to become an expert in several modes of transport. Her experiences include bus maintenance project manager, operation director of automated metro line 14, head of the automatic metro group and head of unified RER A operation unit, Europe’s busiest commuter rail line.
“I have spent my entire career at RATP Group,” she said. “I have had a very rich career, and I have always shared the company’s values and its common culture. We serve citizens and customers and that is the result of teamwork and shared values that are anchored in the DNA of the Group.
“We work on metro operations as a team and that is the most essential element to me. I have always worked with completely different profiles from mine, and I believe this diversity of profiles enriches the company. Without others, we cannot move forward.”
RATP Group has accumulated exhaustive knowledge on the entire life cycle of an automated metro line in complex and varied environments around the world.
The Automated Metro Experts Club can rely on this unique experience and Gervois said this allows the organisation to continuously challenge its GOA4 solution.
“We discuss how our operating models can be optimised,” he said. “How do we approach this in Paris? How does it differ internationally? Can anyone provide insight on this topic?’ There are both economic and strategic considerations we make in our discussions.
“Optimisation helps us deliver the highest quality of service. The pursuit of continuous improvement within our network of automated metro experts provides reassurance.
“When a model is successfully implemented on metro line 14, we can confidently apply it to other lines.”
RATP Dev technical director for Western Sydney Airport and club member Jérémy Souques said the local team established a partnership with CAMCO (Capital Metro Company), the joint venture between RATP Dev and SAPTCO (Saudi Public Transport Company) in Saudi Arabia, leveraging valuable insights from their Saudi Arabian experience.
“The Saudi Arabia team faces similar environmental challenges, such as high temperature that affect the length of time passengers can safely stay on a train during operational incidents (e.g., power loss),” Souques said.
“As a result, our teams have adapted the way they influence the design of the rolling stock and introduced specific measures related with evacuation in a hostile environment.
“The networks – GOA4 greenfield – are also similar. They rely on the same rolling stock, signalling and supervision solutions. Both are in countries where regulation is based on the British model so we exchange best practices and lessons learned through the Automated Metro Experts Club, adapting applicable documentations and ways of doing, and sharing problems we may have encountered.”
Searching for continuous improvement
RATP Dev’s active portfolio enables it to maintain a wealth of experience and a high level of technical and complex project management skills.
The organisation is committed to Sydney until 2041 and will continually look to its global expertise to improve the network. The Automated Metro Experts Club capitalises on various feedback across networks. Members can submit issues to the community to find practical and field-proven solutions and this is set to expand in the coming years.
The objective is to continuously optimise railway safety, performance and service quality.
“We share best practices by reviewing together the main incidents and the factors that caused the incident, as well as our organisation to manage the consequences of these incidents as quickly as possible,” Gervois said.
Souques participated in a learning trip with the RATP Dev Western Sydney Airport technical team to RATP Dev automated metro networks in Doha, Riyadh and Paris. The idea was to leverage the knowledge of RATP Group GOA4 network operations worldwide for the success of the Australian project.
“We were able to analyse our operational know-how during significant world events,” he said.
“This included the 2022 Football World Cup in Doha, and the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games with metro lines 11 and 14 extensions and their daily impacts on passengers. We could also observe the critical phase before commissioning and trial run of the future automated metro lines in Riyadh.
“We memorised everything we could. Relying on what the subsidiaries do is what makes us strong at RATP Group.”
Souques said that it was clear to him the team was fortunate to have this strength of ideas to exchange. Each network taught them valuable lessons on the processes behind designing, integrating, testing and servicing automated metro systems in challenging environments.
Recruiting local talents and fostering skills transfer
RATP Dev understands that its most valuable assets are the people who are at the heart of its networks and are the driving force behind its growth and expertise.
The development of talent, professions and employee training at the local level is a priority for RATP Dev, as it is supporting the professional mobility of young people through the transfer of skills.
The Group’s ADO-IE (Assistance for Development of Operations), which has been working in around 20 countries for almost 20 years, offers assistance with all phases of transport systems and project commissioning and brings together experts and engineers who have gained extensive expertise in the field. The ADO is setting up a training course called FAST which is an Accelerated Training in Transport Systems. This three year program aims to create a pool of versatile, trained employees immersed in different aspects of the transport chain.
“You need to know the people who are the best in a particular field,” the ADO director Gautier Brodeo said.
“The strength of RATP Group lies in having specialised and hyper-specialised talents who will be sought after.
“We have been improving everything we needed to over the past 20 years. This know-how improves as more networks are used.”
This knowledge sharing is not just remaining within the RATP Group but is being extended to universities and schools.
Recently, CAMCO welcomed 70 employees who were just starting their railway-specific training at Saudi Railway Polytechnic (SRP), a group of enthusiastic learners as part of the team in Riyadh early 2024.
“I like the principle of sharing our expertise and our knowledge in transport systems, and inspiring future generations to work with or for our companies,” Brodeo said.
“This is achieved through the contributions of our experts and adds immense value.”
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