FRANCE: Work on the T13 Express tram-train project in the western suburbs of Paris was officially launched on October 5, with the start of construction of a new depot at Versailles.
The first 18·8 km phase would introduce tram-train services from the existing RER station at Saint-Cyr to Noisy-le-Roi on a currently disused section of the Grande Ceinture freight belt, and from Noisy to Saint-Germain GC on a section of this route that currently carries passenger traffic. Around 4 km of new infrastructure will be built from Saint-Germain GC to an interchange with RER Line A at the existing station in the centre of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
The project will require six new stations, while and a further five are to be refurbished. Interchange would be provided with RER lines A and C, and with Transilien lines L, N and U.
Commissioning is scheduled for 2021, when the route is expected to carry 21 000 passengers a day. The €306·7m project is being financed by the région of Île-de-France (53·2%), the département of Yvelines (30%) and the central government (16·8%). Île-de-France Mobilités is financing the €68·4m purchase of 11 Alstom Citadis Dualis tram-train vehicles.
In the longer term, a northern extension is to be built to Achères via Poissy. Once this in operational, ridership on T13 Express is expected to be 40 000 passengers a day.
