The twists and turns are definitely endless around the construction of the CDG express, this direct train between Gare de l'Est in Paris (Xe) and Roissy airport.
This Thursday, the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal was made public.
The works, officially suspended since the beginning of November by a decision of the administrative court of Montreuil, will be able to resume.
But only for now.
The Court of Appeal did not rule on the merits.
It simply cancels the suspension of work, while it looks at the file.
A small detail which however poses the risk of a new halt in the coming months, if finally, the administrative court of appeal ruled in favor of the town hall of Mitry-Mory (Seine-et-Marne) .
"Resuming work in such a context is a provocation"
“For now, that means the resumption of work.
And this is very good news for us, ”said Grégoire Marlot, Chairman of the CDG Express infrastructure manager.
However, he acknowledges that "delays are to be expected" and that the "timetable must be reviewed".
SNCF Réseau will soon present to the prefect of Ile-de-France new “work scheduling” scenarios.
The state could decide in the spring.
On November 9, the Montreuil administrative court ruled in favor of the town hall of Mitry-Mory.
He canceled a prefectural decree, which authorized the SNCF network and ADP, the promoters of the project, to carry out work in a protected area.
The court considered that the “major public interest” character of the work had not been demonstrated.
The works have been suspended.
So faced with this setback of the administrative court of Paris, Didier Le Reste, president of the Non au CDG Express association regrets, this Thursday evening, “an eminently political decision”.
“But we remain mobilized and still have high hopes for the future.
"Jacques Baudrier, administrator (PCF) of IDFM, believes that" resuming work in such a context is a total provocation ".
An endless soap opera
This direct link project between Gare de l'Est in Paris (10th district) and Roissy airport has been the subject of debate since its creation.
Its detractors, who nickname it the “train of the rich”, fear that it weighs on the punctuality of the RER B of which it partly shares the tracks.
They also regret that the 2.2 billion euros it will cost are not spent to improve daily transport.
Argument regularly swept away by the project leaders, recalling in particular that at least 537 million euros of works are financed to improve the RER B and that this new line will unload it.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
The soap opera is not in its first season.
In 2019 already, doubt hovered over its future.
The CDG Express had ended up being authorized in early 2019 by the government, but delayed beyond the 2024 Olympics, due to the overflow of work on the railways north of Paris.
The next episode is therefore expected in the spring.
