[Work is progressing] Extension of line 14 – end of tunnel digging!
Many activities are currently taking place on all 5.8km of new routes and the 4 future stations. The project's workers and engineers are currently working hard to ensure that the extension is commissioned in mid-2020. This work is being carried out both outdoors, around the stations and ancillary structures, and underground, in the tunnel that now needs to be equipped.
In the tunnel: after the tunnel boring machine, the equipment!
After more than two years of work, the excavation of the 5.8km of the tunnel is now complete. It was mainly carried out by two tunnel boring machines (Yolène and Magaly): huge machines operated by a crew of 70 people who carry out both the digging of the ground and the laying of the tunnel lining. The excavated material is then evacuated by river to a recycling site located in Normandy.
Follow the laying of the tracks on the interactive map of the project
Following this particularly spectacular phase, a long work of equipping the tunnel took place. It is a question of laying the electrical cables, lighting, ventilation and emergency accesses... but also the rails on which the future metros will run.
The stations are taking shape
Closer to the surface, the project teams have begun the development of the stations. The "boxes" to make the structure airtight are almost finished, the work now consists of building the platforms and stairs that will allow future users to circulate from the surface to the metro platform. Then will come the installation of the furniture, the vending machines, the control lines, in short... everything that allows the station to operate on a daily basis.
The future maintenance site is also progressing
The building that will house the future trains of line 14 is also taking shape in the heart of the Docks district in Saint-Ouen. It will house sidings, a workshop, offices and all the equipment necessary for the proper functioning of the line. This building, exemplary both for its urban integration and its environmental quality, will be able to accommodate its first trains at the end of 2018.
The project at a glance
The first automatic line of the Paris metro put into service in 1998, line 14 is now extended to the north to Mairie de Saint-Ouen then Saint-Denis Pleyel and to the south to Orly airport. It will eventually be connected to the 4 future automatic lines of the Grand Paris Express, becoming one of the backbones of the Ile-de-France public transport network. This project also aims to relieve the burden on line 13, which is currently largely saturated.
The extension to Mairie de Saint-Ouen, currently under construction, has 5.8km of track for 4 new stations. It will connect the new terminus with the Saint-Lazare station in less than 15 minutes and will be used by 172,000 people every day. To accommodate all these new passengers, Île-de-France Mobilités is financing 35 new MP14 8-car automatic trains. Modern and particularly energy-efficient rolling stock.
The project is led by Île-de-France Mobilités, which is also the project manager jointly with RATP. It represents an investment of €1.4 billion financed by the Société du Grand Paris (55%), the City-de-Paris (20%), the Île-de-France Region (12.5%) and the departments of Seine-Saint-Denis and Hauts-de-Seine (5.5%).