Grand Paris Express Metro: South of Paris, line 18 is preparing for "autumn"

The third phase of testing on the first section of this fully automated metro, which will eventually link Orly Airport to Versailles-Chantier, "is coming to an end," said Christophe Cieux, deputy project director at Société des Grands Projets (SGP, formerly Société du Grand Paris), the project manager, on Tuesday.

A fourth phase of testing, known as "validation" testing, under real operating conditions, i.e. remotely controlled and at commercial speed (50-60 km/h), is "about to start", he added during a press visit to the construction site.

The "Polytechnique" station, white and bright, located amidst the laboratories of EDF, INRIA or Thales, towards which three recently developed cycle paths and eight bus lines converge, received the green light from the Safety Commission on Friday.

Only three validations are needed for the three other stations on the section that will be put into service (Massy-Palaiseau, Université Paris-Saclay and Christ de Saclay), explains Vianney Elziere, project director at SGP.

It remains to be determined exactly when the metro – eagerly awaited by hundreds of students, engineers and researchers – will be able to welcome the public.

The date planned so far is October 1st, preceded by a two-month period of "dry" testing, which would imply a transfer of technical responsibilities between the project owners and the operators on August 1st.

The date will be known "on June 25th", promised Jean-François Monteils, chairman of the board of SGP, to the press on Monday during the visit.

This statement is the prelude to the announcement of a possible delay "of a few weeks" compared to October 1st, a source close to the matter confirmed.

"Mortgages to be lifted"

All participants agreed to refer to it as "autumn," which begins on September 21st and ends on December 20th.

The complexity of implementation between the different actors seems to be the key to this discrepancy.

While line 14, which crosses Paris and is also automated, is operated by RATP alone under the authority of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the organizing authority for transport in the Ile-de-France region, line 18 will be the first to bring together an operator, Keolis, a subsidiary of SNCF, and a different infrastructure manager, RATP, which will maintain the rails and systems of all future lines of the Grand Paris Express.

For Valérie Pécresse, president of IDFM, the first section of line 18 will open to the public "before the end of the year" and "as soon as possible." "The only criterion that will prevail in deciding whether to put it into service is that of safety," she warned.

Equipped with Alstom rolling stock, of which nine out of the ten planned trainsets have already been delivered, line 18 is one of the five lines of the Grand Paris Express project (14, 15, 16, 17 and 18) comprising 200 kilometers of new metro lines in total and 68 stations around Paris, which will eventually transport 3 million passengers per day.

"There are still a number of obstacles to overcome, some of which are not simple," Mr. Monteils admitted to AFP.

"I understand that he is playing a significant role in the early stages of development, so he wants it to be 110% ready, but it never happens, it doesn't exist," he added regarding the operator.

"The main thing is that it's safe, and we will be safe, in perfect working order even if there are still things to sort out," he assured.

RATP also asked SGP to transfer all the technical documentation necessary for the maintenance of the facilities, from signaling software to surveillance cameras, including those of the escalators, all remotely controlled.

"I don't hide it, on these issues, we are behind schedule," Mr. Monteils told AFP.