Extension of line 14 of the Paris metro: RATP ready to open in June

On Monday, Valérie Pécresse, president (LR) of the Île-de-France region, promised the commissioning in June of the extension of line 14 of the Paris metro, to Orly airport (Val-de-France). Marne) to the south and to Saint-Denis-Pleyel (Seine-Saint-Denis) to the north. This Wednesday, the CEO of RATP, Jean Castex, confirmed it: “We are running, it’s a marathon. But we are on schedule.” Respect for essential timing because this line will be the backbone of public transport during the Olympic Games this summer. It will notably serve the Stade de France and the athletes' village.

If the great architects of this XXL operation are convinced of succeeding, it is because the indicators are, for the moment, all green. First, the construction site is progressing at the expected pace: the fourteen kilometers of tunnel are completed; the rails are laid; the new automatic pilot system necessary to operate this extended line was successfully connected at the end of February; apart from a few details, the seven new stations (L’Haÿ-les-Roses, Chevilly-Larue, etc.) are operational. Moreover, the Orly airport station has just been declared compliant by the safety commission and the others should quickly obtain the same label.

On the rolling stock side, the situation is also under control. To operate this much longer line, Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) decided a long time ago to add 37 new MP 14 trains to the 35 already in service. The investment for this second tranche of MP 14 amounts to 500 million euros. One could wonder if the manufacturer of these trains, Alstom, accustomed to delivery delays, would meet these deadlines. Here too, for the moment, a successful operation. The pressure linked to the Olympic Games probably has nothing to do with it.

In anticipation of doubling its fleet, RATP, which had its MP14s maintained in a maintenance center in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), in the northern suburbs, opened another a few months ago in the south, in Morangis (Essonne). A stone's throw from Orly. It is in this cathedral building that looks like a clean room that it receives these brand new XXL metro trains (up to 950 passengers divided into eight cars). “We have already received nine. It takes us about a month to make sure everything works. For example, we will check the tightness of the wheels, test the emergency braking…”, underlines François Fumat, manager of the Morangis maintenance site at RATP.

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Scattered on railway tracks placed in this large cube of 10,000 m2, these trains have a familiar air. Normal, these are the same as those currently circulating on line 14 since 2020. Others are expected soon. Between now and the Olympics, the RATP will be able to count on “52 or 53 trains, which corresponds to the traffic expected by this deadline”, according to Jean Castex. “From 650,000 travelers per day currently, line 14 should increase to 700,000 travelers during the Olympics because there will be some Ile-de-France residents going on vacation,” explains Valérie Pécresse. Then this should increase to one million daily travelers by mid-2025.” This would then make it the busiest line in the network ahead of line 1.

But before getting there, there remains a final obstacle to overcome: the dry run which will allow the metro to be tested in real conditions but without passengers. This should begin on May 13 and “last at least one month,” according to Jean Castex. During this time, the Morangis site will gradually ramp up: for the moment, 25 people work there. Ultimately, there will be 70, as on the Saint-Ouen site. Essentially professional baccalaureates in BTS electricity or industrial maintenance. And, once all the trains have been authorized and injected onto the line, the Morangis center will carry out regular maintenance and will run every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.