2 Years Delay for Metro Lines 15 South, 16, and 17?

Valérie Pécresse, president of Île-de-France Mobilités, sounds the alarm over pessimistic forecasts regarding the new Metro lines.

Valérie Pécresse, president of Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), expresses shock at the extent of the delays announced by the Société du Grand Paris (SGP) for the delivery of the southern line 15. Originally scheduled for the end of 2025, the commissioning could be postponed until April 2027, resulting in cascading consequences for lines 16 and 17. This situation is deemed unacceptable by Valérie Pécresse, who reminds us that hundreds of thousands of residents and workers in the inner suburbs have been waiting for these infrastructures for over fifteen years.

However, it is difficult not to note that these delays were no secret to anyone, especially since the audits conducted as part of the transportation plan for the Paris 2024 Olympics. While Valérie Pécresse plays the surprise card today, we are willing to believe her when she claims to discover the exact extent of these delays, much greater than anticipated.

The cursed lines

In light of these delays, Valérie Pécresse calls for the creation of a control and technical coordination mission involving the State, IDFM, and the SGP. This request comes after several unanswered alerts in recent months. The Ramette/Bense report, commissioned in November at her initiative, reveals much greater delays than expected. These delays are linked to issues of coordination and integration of industrial stages, as well as delays in civil engineering works. The report also highlights “related” delays for lines 16 and 17, which are required to share the same test bench as line 15.

Valérie Pécresse demands that the new mission aims for the commissioning of the southern line 15 before the end of 2026 and guarantees precise and regular information to the members of the SGP Supervisory Board. She also insists that RATP GI, responsible for the infrastructure, as well as RATP Cap and Keolis, the future operators, be fully involved in the works to avoid any unforeseen delays.

These delays occur as the rolling stock, funded by IDFM, is already being delivered, and the operators were designated in mid-2023. A new revision of schedules must incorporate the non-negotiable delays related to the training of personnel.

Finally, she requests that the Ramette/Bense expertise be extended to line 18, for which no project review has been conducted despite different technologies and distinct suppliers.

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