Two metro lines extended in the Paris region thanks to SYSTRA

Extension of line 14, backbone of the Grand Paris Express

From 24 June 2024, line 14 of the Paris metro extends as far north as Saint-Denis-Pleyel and as far south as Orly Airport. This makes it the longest line on the Paris metro and the backbone of the Grand Paris Express.

The inauguration took place in the presence of the President of France Emmanuel Macron, the President of The Regional Council of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse, the CEO of RATP Jean Castex, the Chairman of the Board of SGP Jean-François Monteils, and the CEO of the ADP Group Augustin de Romanet.

SYSTRA’s representatives on the day included Pierre Verzat, CEO, Nathalie Retout, Director of Urban Projects, Île-de-France, Jean-Yves Reynaud, Director of Production, France and International, and François Lhomond, Project Director.

Nearly a decade of projects for SYSTRA on line 14 south

Since June 2015, SYSTRA has been working alongside Setec TPI (leader of the Elios consortium) as project manager for all the infrastructure, along with five architectural practices*. From civil engineering to development, SYSTRA has been involved at every stage of the construction of the tunnel and stations, particularly for Maison Blanche station, the only Parisian station on the section to be built in an ultra-dense urban environment. We were also responsible for overseeing the structural work on the Orly terminus station, under a project management contract signed with ADP.

From studies of the route and structures to monitoring their construction, SYSTRA France’s teams worked day in, day out to meet the deadlines for a project whose entry into service was brought forward to coincide with the summer sports events. We were also responsible for low-voltage systems, ventilation, and smoke extraction throughout the tunnel, as well as environmental, acoustic and vibration studies of the route.

It was a great source of pride to be present at the inauguration of this extension, a flagship project for the Urban Projects Department and an undisputed benchmark for our technical expertise. We are also proud that SYSTRA is the only engineering company to have been involved in all the projects for line 14 since its creation in the 1990s, and then for its extension to Mairie-de-Saint-Ouen until 2021, and now 2024. Finally, I am proud that, with our partners, we will be taking part in the sporting events to come this summer. Congratulations to the teams who have been involved at every stage of this emblematic project.

Vincent Duguay, Director of the Urban Projects Department (DPU), SYSTRA France

Renewal of the automation system: a world first

Another highlight of this extension is the renewal of the train operation automation system (SAET), to which SYSTRA France contributed from design to commissioning. Line 14 will go down in history as the first line to have its automatic train control system replaced, without any interruption to service or impact on commercial operations.

The teams were also involved in the Systems Project Management for the signalling equipment at the Morangis maintenance and storage site, located beyond Orly, which houses half of the 75 trainsets planned for operation.

The Grand Paris Express is taking shape

With the extension of line 14, the Grand Paris Express is becoming a reality for the people of the Paris region. With 7 new stations serving 5 new communes, the line will soon be used daily by 800,000 passengers, making it the busiest metro line in France.

An eighth station, Villejuif – Gustave Roussy, will open by the end of 2024: it will be one of the two transfer stations between line 14 and line 15, the first section of which to the south is expected to open in 2025. This should make the Grand Paris project a reality, offering new mobility solutions to all residents of the Paris region.

To the east of Paris, the extension of line 11 brings Seine-Saint-Denis closer to the capital

On June 13, the extension of line 11 of the Paris metro was brought into service. The inauguration took place in the presence of the President of the Paris region, Valérie Pécresse, of the Minister of Transport Patrice Vergriete, and Jean-Yves Reynaud, Director of Production France and International at the DPU and Nathalie Retout for SYSTRA.

Line 11 now links Les Lilas to Rosny-sous-Bois and provides direct access to the centre of Paris and the Châtelet-Les Halles hub. For SYSTRA, this is the culmination of 10 years’ work, which began in 2014 as leader of the project management consortium, in association with Artelia and Richez_Associés.

SYSTRA involved at every stage

SYSTRA was involved in all phases of the project, which includes 4 stations, a tunnel excavated with a tunnel boring machine and ventilation and fire-fighting access structures, as project manager for the extension’s infrastructure and fittings, from design and execution through to acceptance of the underground section.

With this extension, which will link up with the RER E (Rosny-Bois-Perrier) and the T1 tramway (Romainville-Carnot), line 11 will expand mobility services within the region, and open up new prospects thanks to a future connection with line 15 East scheduled for 2031, and eventually a second extension to Noisy-Champs.

The whole SYSTRA team is very proud to see this project come to fruition, and to be on schedule for the summer of 2024. This extension has been long-awaited by local residents, who will now be able to benefit from a direct metro line to the heart of the capital in less than half an hour and relieve congestion on existing services. Well done to the various teams and support services who have worked for all these years to make this project a success! I would also like to mention the partnership with our co-contractors, which has been constructive at every stage of the project.

Nathalie Retout, Director of Metros, Île-de-France, DPU, SYSTRA France