Taking advantage of an average third of passengers who desert their lines during the summer period, Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the organizing authority for public transport in the Ile-de-France region, takes advantage of the months of July and August each year to carry out big works. The coming summer will be no exception to the rule and many disruptions are looming for users who will stay in the Paris region during the summer months.
This Tuesday, IDFM indeed confirmed that “from the month of June and until the end of August, 5 RER lines, 7 train lines, 9 metro lines and 4 tram lines will undergo work requiring temporary traffic interruptions. To avoid chaos and in order “to support people in their travels and in particular tourists who are discovering the network”, a display device will be deployed “in the stations and stations concerned” and information leaflets will be “distributed to travellers”, promise IDFM, SNCF and RATP.
No less than 9 metro lines are affected, starting with line 4 – currently being automated – which will be closed every evening from 10:15 p.m., from Wednesday to Thursday inclusive, from April 19 to July 20 inclusive, except July 13 and Sunday morning until noon on June 18, July 2 and 23.
On line 5, repair work will require a closure between Gare du Nord and République from July 19 to August 11. Same thing on line 6, where traffic will be interrupted between Nation and Bercy stations from July 22 to August 27 inclusive. On line 7, work planned at the Porte de la Villette station will lead to the partial closure of the line between La Courneuve 8 Mai 1945 and Gare de l’Est (provisional terminus).
Little affected by the summer works, line 9 will only be closed on Sunday 3 September. A total closure is planned on line 11, which crosses the northeast quarter of Paris, every evening from 10 p.m., from Tuesday to Thursday inclusive as well as five Sundays in the coming months: July 9, July 30 and August 27. In addition, line 12 will be closed between Front Populaire and Jules Joffrin from August 2 to 8, 2023 inclusive.
As part of the arrival of the MF19 metro on line 13, work is being carried out at Porte de Saint Ouen, which will be closed from July 19 to August 18 inclusive. Note that the trains will continue to run but will not stop at the station. Finally, line 14 is not to be outdone, since – due to its extension to Orly – traffic will be interrupted on the entire line on a regular basis. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, until July 27, from 10 p.m. (except Monday May 1 and 8, Wednesday May 17 and Thursday May 18, Wednesday June 21) but also Monday May 29 , Sundays June 11 and July 9 from start of service until 4 p.m. The line will also be closed all day, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 June, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July and from Saturday 29 July to Friday 11 August inclusive.
Good to know, the Orlyval automatic metro, which connects Antony station to Orly airport, will be undergoing maintenance and therefore closed to users on July 24, 25, 26 and 27.
Reputed to be the busiest train line in Europe, the RER A will not escape work this summer. Closures will be concentrated in August. No train will run between Nation and Val-de-Fontenay or between Nation and Fontenay-sous-Bois between August 9 and 18. Substitute buses will allow you to reach Paris from the two stations. On the other side of the line, no trains will run between the Cergy-le-Haut and Conflans-Fin d’Oise stations from August 5 to 20.
Partial closures will increase this summer on the RER B, which crosses the Paris region from north to south. The stop at Bagneux station will not be marked from May 29 to August 27 in both directions of traffic, and the line will be closed between Bourg-la-Reine and Robinson, Robinson branch, from July 22 to August 25 inclusive.
In addition, on the southern part of the line, no train will run on the Fontaine-Michalon – Massy-Palaiseau section will be closed from July 14 to August 20 inclusive. Additional closures are to be expected, from July 22 to August 4 between Massy-Palaiseau and Croix de Berny and from July 24 to August 12, from 11:30 p.m., between Denfert-Rochereau and Gare du Nord.
Other summer closures planned on the RER C. On July 1, 2, 8 and 9, trains will be direct between Choisy-leRoi and Juvisy. A little later in mid-July, the heart of the line will be closed from July 15 to August 26, and no trains will run between the Avenue Henri Martin, Javel and Austerlitz stations, as well as the Javel station. To the south of the line, the section between Pont de Rungis-Orly Airport and Massy-Palaiseau will be closed on the same dates, between July 15 and August 26 inclusive.
On the RER D, users will have to be very careful from July 10 to 29 then from July 31 to August 26, dates on which the trains will only run in one direction. On weekdays, trains will run from 4:25 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the direction of Paris, and from 4:35 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the opposite direction.
On the weekend, on the other hand, the trains will run in the direction of Paris from the morning until 2.55 p.m. and in the other direction from 3 p.m. until the end of the service. In both cases, the other direction of traffic will be provided by a substitute bus service.
Finally, the RER E is no exception to this great summer of works. As part of the Eole project, “other changes to services are to be expected”, warns IDFM. In particular on July 29 and 30, August 5 and 6, August 11 and 12, August 19 and 20 and August 26 and 27, dates on which Chelles Gournay station will not be served in both directions of traffic, just like the station of Vaires Torcy, which will not be served in the direction of Paris.
No trains will run between Meaux and La Ferté Milon stations from July 15 to August 27. Same thing on the Coulommiers and Provins branches on July 14, 15 and 16. Finally, Nangis station will not be served from July 3 to August 27. A replacement bus service is in place. In each of the cases mentioned, replacement buses will be put in place.
If the Transilien lines are not the most central, they are still no exception to the rule, in particular line J. On July 8 and 9, no train will run between Paris Saint-Lazare and Mantes, the same for July 10 to August 13 between Epône Mézières and Mantes-la-Jolie.
Other total closures to be expected for users of the line: August 5 and 6, August 19 and 20 and August 26 and 27 between Les Mureaux and Mantes-la-Jolie, July 8 and 9 and August 12 and 13 , between Issou Porcheville and Mantes-la-Jolie stations, and finally, on August 12 and 13, August 19 and 20, and August 26 and 27, between Paris Saint-Lazare and Saint-Cloud, Garches and Marnes la Coquette.
Fewer disruptions will be expected on the rest of the network, with only one closure on line H between the Ermont-Eaubonne–Valmondois and Pontoise–Persan Beaumont stations on August 5 and 6, as on line K between the Gare du Nord and Mitry-Claye from July 8 to August 14.
On line L, no trains will run between Maisons Laffitte and Cergy-le-Haut stations from August 5 to 20. In addition, on July 15 and 16, July 22 and 23 and July 29 and 30, Cergy Préfecture station will not be served in both directions.
On the side of line N, no train will run between the stations of Plaisir Grignon and Mantes-la-Jolie from July 8 to August 13. On line P, no train will run between Meaux and La Ferté Milonu stations from July 15 to August 27, as on the Coulommiers and Provins branches on July 14, 15 and 16. Finally, note that Nangis station will not be served from July 3 to August 27.
Finally, traffic will be completely interrupted on line U between La Défense and Suresnes on August 12 and 13, August 19 and 20, and August 26 and 27. IDFM also specifies that “substitution buses” will be systematically put in place, when the regular lines do not make it possible to accommodate users.
On line T1, which connects Noisy-le-Sec station to Asnières-Quatre Routes, work is also planned for this summer. Result: from Monday 12 to Wednesday 14 June inclusive, the four stations La Ferme, Liberation, Hôtel de Ville de Bobigny and Bobigny-Pablo Picasso will be closed.
On the side of line T2, which connects the Pont de Bezons to the Porte de Versailles, work will be carried out on the platforms, resulting in several partial closures in August. From August 12 to 27 between Pont de Bezons and La Défense, and from August 12 to 18 between Porte de Versailles and Issy-Val de Seine.
From July 27 to August 11 inclusive, line T3a – which connects the Pont du Garigliano to the Porte de Versailles – will be closed between Porte d’Italie and Porte de Vincennes. Same thing on line T3b, which usually connects Porte de Vincennes to Porte d’Asnières and will be closed from July 14 to 26 inclusive between Porte de Vincennes and Porte de Pantin.
On the budget side, the sums are colossal. Some 4.2 billion euros are invested in these large-scale projects, including 2.2 billion allocated to the RATP and 2 billion for the SNCF network in the Ile-de-France region.
Good news for next year. For the first time in several years, “there will be no works in July and August” due to the holding of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. “This summer and in 2025, the works will therefore be a little denser than in other years”, noted Grégoire de Lasteyrie, vice-president of IDFM.
