10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Ligne-A-Nation-2: Pline· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. MI79-R 8292 1: Gonioul· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. MI79-R 8292 3: Gonioul· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. MI79 at cité universitaire: Kevin.B· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 5. MI 79 - Z 8100 SNCF: Mohamed SY· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. MI 79 Gare Robinson Sceaux 7: Chabe01· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. RER B - MI79 + MI84: Tidi546· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 8. CC40100 et MI79: Réda TP· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 9. MI 79 au terminus de Robinson: Mounir91· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 10. MI79 quai bas Sevran: Réda TP· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The MI 79 (French: Matériel d'Interconnexion de 1979, English: 1979 stock interconnecting set), also known as the Class Z 8100, is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that is operated on line B of the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. The MI 79, designed in the 1970s for the RER B which needed dual-voltage (interconnection) trainsets. They were followed by a derivative version, the MI 84, designed in the 1980s to meet the needs of the RER A line, before reassigned to the RER B in the 2010s.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 45 years ago, in 1981.
- Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Weighs about as much as 34 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 104 m long: about 23 cars parked nose to tail.
- Still in service after 45 years.
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1981
- in service from
- 1981
- status
- in service
- number built
- 120
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇫🇷 France
- builders
- Alstom, Société Franco-Belge
- operators
- RATP
- top speed
- 140 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Overhead line:, 3, 3
- formation
- 4 cars per trainset
- length
- 104 m
- weight
- 206 t
- Dutch name
- SNCF Z 8100/8400
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2608869, Wikipedia: MI 79 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.