TWO SHORT but significant extensions to the Paris urban rail network were officially inaugurated on December 16.
The first sees the automated Météor metro Line 14 opened five years ago extended by 487m from Madeleine to St-Lazare at a cost of €128m. As well as providing interchange with SNCF suburban services, Line 14 now connects with Line E, giving it direct interchange with all five RER routes in the capital. Journey time between St-Lazare and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand is just 13min, giving an average speed of 40 km/h including stops.
On the same day, SNCF suburban services from Tournan were diverted from Paris Est to Haussmann-St-Lazare, creating a third branch of RER Line E. Upgrading of the suburban line in Seine-et-Marne has cost €13·7m, mostly for improvements to the stations and traction substations. The branch is served by a half-hourly service off-peak, increasing to 4 trains/h at peak times.
- The Ile-de-France regional council voted at the end of November to approve a grant of €115·6m towards the 7·9 km first section of the orbital Tramway des Maréchaux Sud in the south of the capital.
