Grand Paris project will transform the whole metropolitan area of the French capital and is the answer to all the great challenges the authorities are facing in establishing an innovative, modern and sustainable city. With massive investments in construction of lines, the modernisation of the existing transport system and establishment of connections between this system and the new metro system will result in the development of other areas with major contributions to the French capital’s economy and to the national economy. All civil engineering contracts have been awarded for the construction of Grand Paris Express Line 15 South, expected to be commissioned in 2022.
The entire region of Île-de-France has over 12 million citizens or around 18% of France’s population. Also, the region represents one third of the national GDP. Grand Paris translates into a sustainable and inventive city, new residential districts and jobs, the full integration of the transport system and the construction of a new, ultramodern system corresponding to the highest quality standards in terms of accessibility, connections, comfort and integration.
Grand Paris Express is the foundation of Paris development strategy, the most important public transport development in Europe that will determine the development of other urban projects such as the construction of new residential districts, the establishment of new economic activities, university centre, cultural facilities, all of them connected to the new transport system. The objective of the project is to enable the establishment of new business clusters and, at the same time, to rebalance the region.
Grand Paris Express consists of the construction of a ring around the capital, represented by Line 15 and the construction of other 3 lines – Line 16, 17 and 18 serving the residential areas.
Moreover, the existing transport system will be upgraded. Thus, according to the RATP Group strategy, Métro 2030, the urban rail transport system will be upgraded and extended. Line 14 will become the backbone of the network connecting to the other railways of Grand Paris Express, with 11 metro lines and with 5 RER lines. For example, the extension of Line 14 to Mairie de Saint-Ouen, estimated to be put into service in 2019, represents the first phase of Grand Paris Express. The extension will improve traffic by 25% on line 13 which is very crowded. After the finalisation of works, Line 14 will be extended again to the north (Saint-Denis Pleyel) and south (Orly) with a total of 30 km of underground line.
For complementarity with the Grand Paris Express, other three railways will be extended by over 15 km. At the moment, some of these railways are in the planning or construction phase. All these will have connection to Line 15 of Grand Paris Express. Line 4 will be extended to the south by 1.9 km (2 stations) with connection to Line 15; Line 11 will be extended to the east by 5.4 km (6 new stations), a new terminal in Rosny Bois-Perrier. It will also be connected to Line 16 and RER A and, in the second phase, it will be extended to Noisy-Champs (a station of Grand Paris Express); Line 12 will have a 1.7-km long extension with two stations and a new terminal, while Line 14 will have a 5,8-km extension and 4 new stations with terminal at Mairie de Saint-Ouen.
All Line 15 South contracts awarded
Grand Paris Express will reconfigure the whole traffic in both the city and the region, ensuring connections from one suburb to another through new lines and transport hubs. Currently, Grand Paris Express is the largest construction project in Europe with a total of 200 km of automated railways and 68 new stations. 90% of the lines will be built in the underground and 2 million passengers are expected to use the lines every day. The project is due in 2030.
The project will also provide connection to three airports from Paris, to rail stations, new business district and scientific clusters. Société du Grand Paris (SGP) is the project owner and contracting authority and Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) will be the operator of the network. Although the project requires massive investments, estimated at over EUR 22 billion, SGP estimates show that long-term impact stands at EUR 100 billion to the gross national product (GNP), additional to the natural growth in the region and the generation of over 115,000 new jobs.
Line 15 South will connect Paris’ southern suburbs by building a 33-km long railway with 16 stations and two maintenance depots on the west axis (from Pont de Sèvres) to the east in Noisy Champs. The total cost of the project is EUR 6,85 billion for which the European Investment Bank announced the evaluation of the project to grant a EUR 1 billion financing. Starting with March 2016, SGP has awarded all 8 civil engineering contracts with a total cost of EUR 3,7 billion. 41 work sites are expected to be opened by the end of the year. The railway is expected to be put into operation as of 2022 and will cross 22 communes with 1 million residents. The travel time between Pont de Sèvres and Noisy – Champs is 37 minutes.
The first construction phase of Grand Paris Express was officially inaugurated last year as part of the future Fort d’Issy-Vanves-Clamart station. The EUR 66 million contract for the construction of the rail station was awarded to the consortium Bouygues Travaux Publics – Soletanche Bachy Group.
In September 2016, 2 contracts worth EUR 414 million were awarded: the consortium Demathieu Bard Construction, NGE Génie Civil SAS, GTS SAS, Guintoli SAS, Impresa Pizzarotti, Implenia, Franki Foundations Belgium and Atlas Foundations won the EUR 363 million contract for the construction of a twin-bore tunnel of 4,7 km between Noisy-Champs and Bry-Villiers-Champigny; the EUR 51 million contract was awarded to Parenge, Dacquin and Leon Grosse consortium for civil engineering works at Line 15 South and Line 16 junction in Noisy-Champs Station.
In February 2017, SGP awarded two big contracts with a total cost of EUR 1,73 billion. The consortium led by Bouygues Travaux (next to Soletanche Bachy France, Soletanche Bachy Tunnels, BESSAC, and SADE) signed the EUR 807 million contract for works on Villejuif Louis-Aragon – Créteil l’Échat section, including the construction of 4 stations and boring a two-lane tunnel. The EUR 926 million contract has been awarded to Vinci Construction Grands Projets consortium which includes Spie Batignolles TPCI, Dodin Campenon Bernard, Vinci Construction France, Spie Fondations and Botte Fondations.
The EUR 795 million contract was awarded in April 2017 for the section between Créteil l’Échat and Bry – Villiers – Champigny stations. The winner is Eiffage Génie Civil and Razel-Bec consortium that will have to build a 7.2-km twin-bore tunnel, 7 rail structures and three stations (Bry-Villiers-Champigny, Champigny Centre and Saint-Maur Créteil).
In June 2017, SGP announced the allocation of the last two contracts within the project of Line 15 South with a total cost of EUR 669 million. VINCI Construction and Spie Batignolles consortium won the EUR 156 million contract for the construction of Noisy-Champs station, of a warehouse and of a road bridge across the RER A regional railway.
The last EUR 513 million contract was awarded to the JV led by Bouygues TP and including Soletanche Bachy France, Soletanche Bachy Tunnels, BESSAC, SADE. The contract includes the development of a 4-km tunnel, Pont-de-Sèvres and Issy RER stations, metallic structures and adjacent works.
As of 2027, Grand Paris Express will have another railway, Ligne 15 West, served by 11 stations, from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Pont de Sèvres. The travel time will be significantly reduced from 51 minutes at the moment to 25 minutes. It will cross 14 communes with over 800,000 citizens. Systra, in consortium with five architecture companies led by Setec TPI, won the contract for the management of the infrastructure on this line section.
Line 16 will provide connections with 9 stations between Noisy-Champs and Saint-Denis Pleyel. The 25-km long line will cross 16 communes with 775,000 citizens. The travel time is estimated at 26 minutes.
The 27-km long Line 17 will have 9 stations and will connect Le Bourget and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airports. The line will be commissioned in two phases: in 2024, it will provide connection between Saint-Denis Pleyel and Charles-de-Gaulle Airport and then, from 2030, it will be operational between Mesnil and Amelot. Line 17 will have a common tunnel section with Line 16 (between Saint-Denis Pleyel and Bourget-RER).
Line 18 will have 35 km built in the underground and suspended and will connect Orly Airport to Versailles Chantiers station in 32 minutes. Last year, Egis won the engineering, procurement and construction management works for this project. The construction will be implemented in two phases: the first phase will be built between Orly Airport and CEA Saint-Aubin (completed in 2024) and CEA Saint-Aubin to Versailles-Chantiers, completed in 2030.
Share on:
