Grand Paris Express First Lines Delayed Again, Raising Concerns
The inauguration of the initial lines of the Grand Paris Express has been postponed once more, as announced by the Société des Grands Projets (SGP) on Tuesday. This announcement has sparked renewed concerns about the project’s timeline and the potential impact on the region’s transportation system.
Revised Delivery Dates
Line 15 South, initially scheduled to open to the public in late 2025 and then mid-2026, will now not be delivered until "the fourth quarter of 2026." This delay has a domino effect on Lines 16 and 17, which were slated to open at the end of 2026. They will now not be completed until "the second quarter of 2027," according to Jean-François Monteils, chairman of the SGP’s executive board.
Challenges and a "Reset"
Monteils emphasized that there would be "no changes at this stage" to the other lines of the network. He explained that the decision to revise the timelines was based on "greater difficulties" than anticipated, as well as new challenges that have emerged during the testing phase.
Despite the setbacks, Monteils stressed that the SGP is constructing a "new metro" that will be "gigantic, automatic, reliable, and accessible," providing an unprecedented level of service quality. He maintained that "this is the ambition of the Grand Paris Express."
Concerns and Criticism
The announcement of these latest delays has raised concerns about the extent of the setbacks, especially given that this is not the first time the project’s timeline has been revised since its inception over a decade ago. In November, the SGP had already been forced to postpone the delivery of Line 15 South to "summer 2026" due to delays in testing.
Monteils defended the project’s complexity, stating that it was "primarily due to its size." He asserted that the new schedule is "robust," having been validated by all project partners and subjected to counter-expertise by specialists.
However, Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region and Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), expressed shock at "the magnitude of the new delays announced by the SGP." She emphasized the negative impact these delays would have on the "hundreds of thousands of residents and workers in the inner suburbs who have been waiting for more than fifteen years."
Increased Oversight
Pécresse, concerned about the accumulation of delays, announced the creation of a "technical monitoring and coordination mission for the Société des Grands Projets" involving the state and Île-de-France Mobilités. This mission would aim to "minimize these new delays as much as possible."
IDFM has highlighted the need for increased oversight of the project, citing a lack of attention to the warnings it had issued in recent months. In November, the SGP enlisted two rail transport experts, Didier Bense and Yves Ramette, to provide an objective assessment of the situation. According to IDFM, their report identified "significantly more extensive delays than expected on Line 15, due in particular to delays in civil engineering work and to coordination and integration issues in the various industrial stages and contracts."
