en.Wedoany.com Reported - The opening of Line 15 South of the Grand Paris Express (GPE) project has been postponed again, with a new target date set for autumn 2027 instead of April 2027, a further six-month delay from the original schedule. Jean-François Monteils, Chairman of the Executive Board of the project's managing body, Société des grands projets (SGP), acknowledged this adjustment following the Supervisory Board meeting on June 25.
Line 15 South spans 33 kilometers with 16 stations, connecting Pont de Sèvres in Hauts-de-Seine to Noisy-Champs in Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marne. Initially planned to open by the end of 2025, it was delayed to spring 2027 last year. Despite an action plan implemented by SGP, including contract restructuring with contractors and a roadmap transitioning from civil engineering and finishing phases to transport systems and station control phases, the delay could not be avoided. Monteils stated that while this plan, which strictly aims to regain control of the project, has yielded significant results, the delay is unsatisfactory. He explained that the project underestimated the line's vast scale, emphasizing the involvement of 835 companies requiring the installation and coordination of thousands of devices. Additionally, it was believed that these delays could be recovered, leading to hopes of opening in a degraded mode, but after extensive studies, it was deemed more reasonable to pursue the highest level of service, resulting in a six-month delay.
SGP assures that this delay should not be extended. Spring saw vehicle speed tests and qualification trials, which will verify 80% of the line's functional systems. Executive Board member Bernard Cathelain noted that two-thirds of ancillary works are connected, all platform doors are in place, and passenger equipment is widely deployed.
The new timeline is expected to have cost implications. Monteils acknowledged that no event in project management is without cost impact, and this delay could negatively affect the cost of Line 15 South itself. However, SGP has not revised the overall target for the entire Grand Paris Express—set at €36.1 billion (based on 2012 values)—nor the dedicated budget of €8.733 billion for Line 15 South. Monteils pledged to announce any changes to the final estimate if necessary. More importantly, the delay of Line 15 South will cause knock-on effects on Lines 16 and 17, which interact with it, though the extent remains unclear. He stated he cannot specify the delays for those lines, and a detailed rescheduling of the initial sections of Lines 16 and 17 will be conducted, with timelines to be determined by autumn.
This news has sparked political reactions. Stéphane Troussel, Socialist President of the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council, expressed regret over the delay, calling it very bad news, and warned about the status of Lines 16 and 17, emphasizing that every month matters given the significant changes in the region, so that all residents of Seine-Saint-Denis can benefit from high-quality transport and gain access to employment, education, and essential services.
Meanwhile, SGP announced another positive update: the first opening date within the GPE project has been set. The initial section of Line 18, connecting Massy-Palaiseau in Essonne to Paris-Saclay University, will open in the first week of December 2026. Originally expected to open in early October, the opening remains subject to certain conditions. After September 30, SGP will transfer technical management to Keolis and RATP Infrastructure (future operators and maintainers under the jurisdiction of Île-de-France Mobilités), and following two months of empty-run tests, the section can be operational from November 30, 2026. Monteils stated that this is the first entirely new line to open in Île-de-France in 30 years, a very significant event, enabling 30,000 researchers, 70,000 students, and many residents to travel. By the end of 2027, the section connecting the Saclay plateau to Orly Airport will also open, representing half of Line 18. At the start of the GPE project, Line 18 seemed very distant and was expected to be the last to open, but it will ultimately be the first.
SGP also announced that Nicolas Samsoen was unanimously elected President of the Supervisory Board. This UDI mayor of Massy (Essonne) since 2017 succeeds Rachid Bouamrane, the Socialist mayor of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine (Seine-Saint-Denis), whose term expired in March. Nicolas Samsoen was appointed to the Supervisory Board in April of this year by ministerial decree, representing the mayors of the Île-de-France region.
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