Transport in Ile-de-France: major projects stopped, when will the recovery take place?

Delays are part of the life of any construction site on transport infrastructure. But the Covid-19 epidemic goes beyond all that was envisaged, even in the worst-case scenario ... "We are facing an almost total halt in our works to modernize the network," said Valérie Pécresse , the president of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), last weekend.

Only maintenance and security operations have continued since the containment was introduced on March 17. The difficulty in applying social distancing measures, the interruption of supply chains and the specificities of underground construction sites prevent - for the moment - any resumption of operations.

"One or two months off can imply more than a year of delay"

This paralysis falls at a time when the vast Ile de France rail network is teeming with major projects. Grand Paris Express, extensions to metro lines 4, 11, 12 and 14, the RER E (Eole), creation of the CDG Express… The schedule was already extremely tight and busy. “One or two months of stoppage can involve more than a year of delay in fine . If you miss a shooting window to install a structure, you lose the niche, you have to postpone the work to the following year, ”laments Valérie Pécresse.

In many cases, the prospect of completing several achievements for the Paris Olympics in 2024 risks shattering. The president established "a priority list of the building sites to take again as soon as the safety of the workers will be assured". Among them: "The extension of line 14 of the metro, that of Eole, the trams and the works on the north beam of the RER B and D".

"Too big health risks"

The president of the region also wrote to Elisabeth Borne, the Minister for the Ecological Transition, to speed up the restart of work. Any recovery depends on the agreement between the construction industry and the government. "Construction companies are facing serious organizational problems forcing them to abandon certain operations, but we absolutely need that certain sites can be continued, in compliance with the sanitary conditions recommended by the government," wrote the elected official. .

Pressurization of companies and staff that Jacques Baudrier, counselor of Paris (PCF), finds inappropriate. “We elected communists are against it. It would make workers take too big a health risk. It is out of the question to relaunch large projects like Eole in the west or the T9 tramway (Paris-Orly) before the end of the epidemic, ”he storms.

And rather than restricting investments because of the cost of the epidemic, Jacques Baudrier calls for an ambitious recovery strategy to emerge from the crisis. “The subject is rather to draw up a plan to be ready to relaunch, at the end of confinement, projects at a standstill like the Teléval in Val-de-Marne, or the extension of the Tramway des Maréchaux from the Porte Dauphine. The departments and the region agree, they are just waiting for a green light from the State which will have to let go of the bridle financially to restart the machine. "

Will the extended line 14 be ready for September?

Not all is lost, however. Certain flagship projects, such as the extension of line 14 to Mairie de Saint-Ouen, are already well advanced. "We received the first MP14 train at the new maintenance site in Saint-Ouen," says RATP. The MP 14 tests must be carried out as well as the finalization of the layout of the four new Pont-Cardinet, Clichy-Saint-Ouen, Mairie-de-Saint-Ouen, Porte-de-Clichy stations ”. The commissioning of this northern extension for September is however not confirmed.

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On line 4, work related to automation and the extension to the south is suspended. The installation of platform doors on the platforms has ceased. But “the system tests continue, which is why line 4 does not open until 10 am on Sundays, specifies the RATP. But at a rate and volume much lower than they were before the Covid-19 crisis. These tests will enable the new centralized control station (PCC) to be put into service, an essential step for the circulation of the first automatic shuttle. "

Work on the embankment collapsed on February 4 at the Sèvres Ville-d'Avray station has resumed, but at a slower pace. DR.

North of Paris, a disrupted calendar

On the SNCF network in Ile-de-France, work on the embankment collapsed on February 4 at the Sèvres Ville-d'Avray station, on lines L and U, resumed on March 24. But it is especially the famous "northern beam" which concentrates the most concern. Renovation of the RER B and D lines, signaling, overhead line, facilities for the CDG Express: dozens of sites were stalled for the next few years. The Covid-19 may overhaul everything. Without forgetting the extension of the Gare du Nord, also expected there in 2024. The first picks could have taken place this summer, once the building permit issued by the prefect. Nothing is less certain now.

Grand Paris Express: the OJ objective impossible to meet

Finally, the "largest construction site in Europe" is cut in full swing. The first 15 tunnel boring machines that have started to dig the future 200 km super metro are stopped. Some technicians remain mobilized to watch over the machines and prevent the tunnels from being flooded. The timely completion of lines 16 and 14 serving the future Olympic village of Saint-Denis will depend on the takeover conditions. But the room for maneuver to be ready before 2024 will be very slim.