European Railroad Discussion > Paris-Roubaix intermodal train

A nice bonus to bike race coverage from today...

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I wondered whether that's the Novara to Ham's Hall with the Norfolk Line curtainsiders? Maybe not as it looks like SNCF power rather than Europorte.

Looks like the loco is a Belgian Railways (SNCB) Class 13, very similar to the French SNCF 36000 class. Both were manufactured by Alstom.

I think it is a CFL (Luxembourg Railways) Class 3000 which is identical to the Belgian Class 13. I base this on the dark stripe under the bodyside grillwork. The Belgian loks have a grey stripe, while the CFL loks have a dark maroon stripe, otherwise the paint scheme is identical.

I seem to remember watching a cycling race on TV a few years ago (might have been the Paris-Roubaix, I don't quite remember) through north-east France where the course crossed a level crossing. Just as the main group was approaching the barriers lowered...but a few cyclists nipped across as the barriers were lowering. As I recall these cyclists were disqualified, but only after some deliberation.
I've noticed that there are frequently shots of trains on the coverage of races... I always wondered if the camera operators are railfans.

I remember watching the Tour De France many years ago, back when Lance Armstrong was in it, and noticed a SNCF TGV in one of the shots. The thing was the TGV was sitting on a stretch of non-electrified track-age. The train obviously had been towed there to serves as a backdrop where the road and the cyclists came along side the rail line.