FRANCE: A 4·3 km westward extension of Paris tram Line T3b from Porte de la Chapelle to Porte d’Asnières opened on November 24. This adds 4·3 km and eight stops, taking Line T3b to 14·3 km.
The extension is intended to serve urban development projects in northern and northwestern Paris, and ridership is predicted to be 89 000 passengers/day.
Construction of the extension began in April 2014, with the €211m cost being met by the city (60%), national government (12%) and Île-de-France regional (28%). Île-de-France Mobilités also financed a €48m order for a further 14 Alstom Citadis trams to expand the fleet used on the orbital lines T3a and T3b which together now total 26·2 km with 51 stops.
A further 3·2 km extension from Porte d’Asnières to Porte Dauphine with seven stops is scheduled to open in 2023. However, the proposal for a further continuation from Porte Dauphine to meet the start of Line T3a at Pont du Garigliano and thereby form a complete circle around Paris have been put on hold.
