After more than four years of work and the use of seven TBMs, the tunnel of Grand Paris Express Line 16 is now fully excavated.
On Monday, 26 February 2024, the TBM Houda reached the Mare au Chanvre construction site in Sevran, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. Finishing the 11 km of Lot 2 and thus concluding the excavation of Line 16 of the Grand Paris Express, the new metro project for the Île-de-France region. With its 29 km length and 10 new stations, Line 16 is the first of the Grand Paris Express to have its entire underground route excavated.
Houda is the last of the seven TBMs, along with Sarah, Bantan, Inès, Armelle, Mirelle and Maud, who have excavated the tunnel between the Saint-Denis - Pleyel and Noisy - Champs stations. In the coming days, Houda will be disassembled, as like its twin sister Mireille, which reached its final destination in April 2023.
To date, the construction of Lot 2 - extending between Aulnay-sous-Bois and Chelles, including four stations, one of which has been completed and three in the process of completion - has reached a progress rate of 97% and the objective is to complete the work by next autumn.
The excavation of the Line 16 tunnel was carried out at an average depth of about twenty metres, through a complex geology with numerous aquifers, passing under numerous railway lines without interrupting rail traffic (almost 45 railway lines to be crossed in the municipality of Saint-Denis), under motorways, and under the river Marne.
Work has begun on fitting out and equipping Line 16 both underground and above ground. More than 17 km of double track has already been laid in the tunnel from the Saint-Denis - Pleyel station to the Aulnay operations centre. In January, track laying also began for the second half of the line. Thanks to the use of 95 per cent recycled steel and production in electric steel mills, the low-carbon railway makes it possible to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with the production of these rails by 90 per cent compared to traditional production methods. Once the rails are laid, the catenaries and electrical cables, ventilation and lighting systems, and all equipment essential for the operation of the new metro will be installed.
The new Line 16, built by Webuild and France's NGE, will serve the Seine-Saint-Denis and Seine-et-Marne departments, carrying around 200,000 passengers a day and significantly improving connections between the center and the suburbs. The timetable for the entry into service of Line 16 foresees the opening between Saint-Denis - Pleyel and Clichy - Montfermeil at the end of 2026 and between Clichy - Montfermeil and Noisy - Champs at the end of 2028.
Click here and fr/127 for the tunnelbuilder archive also visit https://www.societedugrandparis.fr, https://www.webuildgroup.com/en/ and https://www.nge.fr/. 10/24.
