On the road to the Games: line 14 changes automatic piloting

Until the Games, those involved in the extension of line 14, to Saint-Denis and its Olympic village to the north and to Orly airport to the south, tell AFP how they are preparing.

It's the turn of Elisa Chazel, project manager at RATP for the complex operation of installing the new automatic signaling. Essential to double the length of the line and transport 1 million passengers per day, this generational change in automation recently required the line to be closed for two weeks. “It went very well!”, she congratulates herself.

The end of the work is still planned for June, and other closures are announced between now and then to fully test this new signage on the new sections, up to Saint-Denis (near the Stade de France) and up to Orly.

“Since February 26, 2024, line 14, as planned, has been running with new generation automation.

The first generation had reached its capacity limits. It remained fully operational on the current perimeter of the line, from Olympiades to Saint-Ouen, but was no longer able to support additional stations, nor the number of trains needed for the extension.

The old system allowed for 95-second intervals between two trains. The new one will allow us to go to 80 seconds if one day we have the wish or the need. Today when we test it, it works.

Between Olympiades and Saint-Ouen, the new system was installed while the old one was still working. This is a world first!

All equipment has been doubled. That means technical cabinets everywhere. There are loops, quite phenomenal lengths of cables which have been unrolled, and above all connected to each piece of equipment by tracing the signals back into the machines one by one... The old equipment will have to be removed later, after the Olympics.

“We keep the calendar”

Tests on the line began at the beginning of 2023, during long nights, during weekends, then the ITCs (temporary traffic interruptions, i.e. line closures, Editor's note) in the summer and of All Saints' Day in particular.

During the ITC, we were getting configured with the new system. And obviously, when it was put back into circulation with passengers, we switched back to the old generation.

In February, we completely switched (the current portions, Editor's note) to the new system. It went very well !

Of course, the system is young: there are small technical hazards which are all systematically taken care of, analyzed, with the aim of understanding of course, but above all of very rapid correction.

On each of the ITCs, there is a very phenomenal density of work. Dozens and dozens of people are mobilized day and night continuously. And there is something very galvanizing for the teams from RATP and Siemens, the manufacturer which supplies the automation systems.

We cannot allow ourselves to interrupt traffic without capitalizing on each hour of closure. Besides the fact that there is a whole section of testing that we do not know how to do otherwise, it brings the benefit of being able to run a very large number of trains for dozens of hours - it is part of the running-in which is already taking place.

Other ITCs will still be necessary. From April 7 to 14, we will still be in a phase of system configuration and robustness testing.

From May 8 to 12, we will configure ourselves for the full line. At the end of these five days of ITC, the operator will be running dry (traffic circulation in real conditions, without passengers, to ensure that everything is going well, Editor's note).

We keep the calendar and we will keep it, we no longer have any doubt about that. Everything is organized to deliver the project at the very beginning of June.

We have no worries about finishing before the Olympics!”