FRANCE: Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete joined Paris Transport Authority CEO Jean Castex, President of Île-de-France région Valérie Pécresse and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo at a ceremony on April 5 marking the opening of an extension of tram Line T3b across the northwest of the capital.
The 3∙2 km route between Marguerite Long (Porte d’Asnières) and Porte Dauphine serves seven stops, three of which provide interchange to metro and RER routes. At Porte de Champerret the extension connects with metro Line 3 and at Porte Maillot with metro Line 1, RER Line C and, from May, RER Line E. At the southern terminus of Porte Dauphine there is interchange to metro Line 2 and a further connection to RER Line C.
Services run at 4 min headways in peak hours and every 8 min at other times; journey time from Porte Dauphine to Porte d’Asnières is 15 min with trams operating at up to 60 km/h. At Porte d’Asnières the extension connects end-on with the existing sections of Line 3b to Porte de la Chapelle and Porte de Vincennes, taking the total length to 17∙5 km.
The line is used by 300 000 passengers a day, making it the busiest tram route in Paris. A fleet of nine Citadis 402 trams to operate the extension was supplied by Alstom using €35m provided by Île-de-France Mobilités. This takes the total Line T3 fleet to 72 trams, 39 of which are needed to operate the peak-hour timetable on Line T3b. Each Citadis 402 can accommodate 300 passengers, and the fleet is maintained at Ladoumègue depot in the Pantin area. RATP employs 180 drivers on Line 3b, 50 of whom were hired to work services on the extension.
The €200m cost of the extension was funded 60% by Ville de Paris, 28% by the région and 12% by the national government using European Union funds.
Operating costs of €5m a year will be paid by Île-de-France Mobilités, which plans to study a further extension of Line T3b from Porte Dauphine to Pont du Garigliano, the current western terminus of Line T3a. Were this to be built, lines T3a and T3b would together offer a complete circuit of Paris, but there is no funding or timescale for the project.
