en.Wedoany.com Reported - The final opening of the southern section of the Grand Paris Express Metro Line 15 has been postponed to autumn 2027. The Société des Grands Projets (SGP), the company responsible for the project, announced this adjustment at a press conference on June 25, marking a delay of approximately six months compared to previous expectations.
This 33-kilometer line, connecting Ny to Pont-Sèvres, includes 16 stations and was originally planned to begin operations in 2020. This postponement marks the fifth delay for the line. At the press conference, SGP provided an update on the progress of the southern section of Line 15.
Two years ago, SGP faced a "difficult period" as the project transitioned to the installation phase of operational systems. At that time, the "brain" of train operations—the transport system—entered the installation and organization stage, but "many issues arose, involving both operational pacing and contractual organization with contractors." The problems focused on key aspects such as overall integration and site organization. Subsequently, SGP developed a plan to "regain control" of project management, achieving "very significant results" that clarified the timeline for project completion.
However, the initial implementation of this plan did not meet expected speeds. SGP stated that collaboration with some partners was not smooth, and certain contractors underperformed in their tasks, forcing SGP to transfer these parts to other contractors better able to manage overall integration. Coordinating up to 800 companies involved in the construction of the southern section of Line 15 took more time than anticipated.
SGP may have also underestimated the scale of the line. The entire route requires the installation of over 1,200 beacons and meticulous calibration, with the overall system involving 5,200 cameras. Additionally, due to the significant depth of the stations and the inclusion of numerous technical rooms dedicated to line automation—which can account for up to 50% of station volume—systems such as energy supply, ventilation, and fluid circulation added to the project's complexity.
SGP attempted to compensate for delays by postponing certain non-critical work packages, such as splitting functions deemed "neither critical, nor affecting safety, nor obviously necessary." However, this approach proved unfeasible both technically and legally. Since the southern section of Line 15 was designed as an integrated whole, splitting work packages led to additional labor hours and organizational adjustments, offsetting the expected time savings. Based on this situation, SGP ultimately decided on an autumn 2027 opening.
