As predicted by several experts on the subject, a delay of several months in the construction of the Grand Paris Express was officially announced on Tuesday, February 18. Commissioning of lines 15 south, 16 and 17 will be postponed by several months, and the first section will not be operational until the 4th quarter of 2026.
Work on the Grand Paris Express officially delayed
As the flagship project of the Grand Paris project, the regional supermetro will not be able to keep to the original schedule. As a result, line 15 south, linking Pont de Sèvres to Noisy-Champs, will not be inaugurated until the end of 2026, whereas it was initially scheduled for the summer of that same year. This de facto postponement means a further delay in the inauguration dates for the other lines of the Grand Paris Express. So, to sum up:
- Line 15 South (from Pont de Sèvres to Noisy-Champs) will be delivered at the end of 2026 (originally scheduled for summer 2026).
- line 16 West (from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Clichy-Montfermeil) will be delivered in mid-2027 (originally scheduled for late 2026)
- Line 17 West (from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Bourget Airport) will be delivered in mid-2027 (originally scheduled for late 2026).
According to Société des Grands Projets, these delays are due to complex technical adjustments, in particular to the testing of automatic equipment. These tests, designed to ensure the safety of driverless trains, are one of the reasons why the scheduled dates have not been met. Despite this, the Alstom-built trainsets are ready to go, but still need to be fine-tuned to their environment.
Reactions to the announcement were swift. Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France region and of Île-de-France Mobilités, said she was “shocked” by the new delays. She called for a review mission between the State and Île-de-France Mobilités to reduce these delays.