Metro: future lines 16 and 17 will be operated by Keolis

Visualization of the automatic metro that will run on lines 16 and 17. © Alstom
Visualization of the automatic metro that will run on lines 16 and 17. © Alstom

On 30 May 2023, the Board of Directors of Île-de-France Mobilités has just awarded a public service contract for the operation of a metro line for the first time.

And it is the company Keolis, which already operates several hundred bus lines in the outer suburbs and the T9 and T13 trams (with Transkeo) on behalf of Île-de-France Mobilités, which has just been appointed to operate the future metro lines 16 and 17 and the Saint-Denis Pleyel station.

The contract, worth approximately €300 million, will start in July 2023 for a period of seven to ten years maximum. It concerns:

  • The operation of the future metro line 16 which will link the Saint-Denis Pleyel station to Noisy-Champs (commissioning scheduled for the end of 2026)
  • The operation of part of the future metro 17 between the Saint-Denis Pleyel and Parc des Expositions stations in Villepinte (commissioning scheduled for the end of 2028)
  • The operation of the Saint-Denis Pleyel station, a real nerve centre of the northern Greater Paris area at the crossroads of lines 14, 15, 16, 17 and RER D, which is scheduled to open in June 2024 for the commissioning of the northern extension of metro line 14.

What will be Keolis' missions on lines 16 and 17 and at Saint-Denis Pleyel station?

As part of the contract signed with Île-de-France Mobilités, Keolis becomes the operator of lines 16 and 17 and the Saint-Denis Pleyel station.

A status that gives him the responsibility of:

  • Part of the commissioning of the station and the sections of lines 16 and 17,
  • The operation (traffic on the lines, security, passenger information),
  • Maintenance of the station, lines and rolling stock in the event of a breakdown.

Metro 16 and 17: facilitating travel between the different territories of the Greater Suburbs

As part of a project for new metros that will connect the main places of life and activity in the suburbs without passing through Paris, the future lines 16 and 17 will be fully automated, accessible and connected with the rest of the existing network.

Metro 16: a new line to serve Seine-Saint-Denis

With 775,000 inhabitants and a position at the crossroads between several strategic territories in the outer suburbs, Seine-Saint-Denis is currently unevenly served by public transport.

Line 16, which will eventually link the Saint-Denis Pleyel station (93) to Noisy-Champs (77/93), will open up the territory and save travel time for Ile-de-France residents :

  • Chelles <> La Courneuve, in just 20 minutes instead of 1 hour,
  • Clichy-sous-Bois <> University of Créteil in 29 minutes instead of 1 hour 20 minutes,
  • Saint-Denis Pleyel <> Noisy-Champs will only take 30 minutes of travel.

Metro 17: direct access to places of life and culture

A direct line between Saint-Denis Pleyel and Mesnil Amelot in the 77 (in only 25 minutes), metro line 17 will pass through Charles de Gaulle Airport and will share a section of its line with metro 16 by connecting the stations of Saint-Denis Pleyel, La Courneuve Six-Routes and Le Bourget RER.

Its purpose:

  • Linking the Plaine Saint Denis to the territories of Le Bourget, Gonnesse and Grand Roissy
  • And to strengthen the economic hubs of the Ile-de-France region such as the Parc des Expositions or Le Bourget Airport.