RATP has announced the completion of the 3 km tunnel excavation of the Paris Line 11 extension, which will be 6 km long and will connect the stations of Merri-Dras and Rosny-Boisperrier. The Sofia tunnel boring machine has arrived at the site of the new Sergey Gainsburg station (Les Lilas), marking the end of the entire 6-kilometer extension tunnel excavation and structural works.

Sofia TBM took 15 months to complete 3 kilometers of excavation work, about 14 meters per day. It will connect 4 future stations Sergey Gainsburg, Place Cano, Montreux-Hepital and Radui. In order to connect the current line and the extension line, a 250-meter-long tunnel was dug from the Merri de Lilas station to the future Sergey Gainsburg station using traditional methods. In addition, the future Kotobokley station and the viaduct of the rectangular Rosny-Boisperil tunnel are also connected.

The future Sergey Gainsburg station is located in the center of Les Lilas residential area in the northeastern suburbs of Paris and can accommodate 15,000 passengers per day. The laying of the track between the future train repair shop and the completed Rosny-Boisperil station has already begun. A 600-meter high viaduct and glass roof of the Céteaux-Bokley station were installed.

Two new entrances were constructed, and extensive modernization works were carried out at the existing stations on Line 11 to accommodate the future five-car trains. By autumn, RATP is expected to complete the modernization of the four existing stations along the line (Goncot, Chatlet, Judan, and Fetters Square). This line will be operated by the M14 five-car train delivered by Alstom to replace the existing four-car train. The new subway train is currently undergoing testing on Line 1, and after completion, it will be tested on the extension of Line 11.

The current train repair shop is located in Les Lilas and will be moved to the new Rosny-Su-Bois, which will be put into use at the end of 2021. The new workshop is designed to accommodate new high-capacity trains. The Paris Line 11 expansion project involves an investment of 1.3 billion euros (2014 price), which is executed by RATP, which is responsible for design and engineering, while the French company Mobil organizes transportation services to ensure compliance with train schedules and costs. The project is funded by the State, the French Region, the Greater Paris Society, the Saint-Denis Commission of Seine, RATP and the City of Paris.

Keywords: overseas engineering, international engineering construction, foreign engineering construction news

The expansion project is served by 6 new stations and is expected to be put into passenger operation in 2023. By then, the travel time between Rosny-Boys Perrier and Chetlet will be shortened from the current 55 minutes to 24 minutes. Editor/XuNing