Transport Minister Élisabeth Borne announced Wednesday "a postponement" of the commissioning of the future CDG Express rail link between Paris and Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport "at the end of 2025 in order to limit the impact of the works "for commuters. The project, which she deems "indispensable for Paris and Île-de-France", will not be operational for the Olympic Games of Paris-2024, as it was originally announced. The new train was scheduled to open on December 31, 2023.
Consequences for RER B users
The prefect of the region Ile-de-France Michel Cadot had proposed two scenarios to the government for the realization of the decried CDG Express, suggesting a commissioning in time for the Games with a long interruption of the RER B, or end 2025. The line CDG Express, whose initial cost is estimated at 1.8 billion euros - excluding financing costs - must directly connect the Gare de l'Est, in the center of Paris, to Roissy Airport Terminal 2 . The journey should last 20 minutes and cost 24 euros.
The additional cost of the chosen scenario could be around "a few tens (millions of euros), a hundred maximum," said Elisabeth Borne in a press conference. The consequence for RER B users could be more weekend breaks over the period 2021-23.
A disputed project
This project is disputed by many residents and elected officials of Ile-de-France, who fear that the works do too much disturb the suburban train lines north of Paris - and especially the RER B - especially as 15 major projects are planned in the coming years in this sector.
The ADP group, manager of the Paris airports, the Interministerial Delegation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Dijop), and the CDG Express project company were in favor of the 2024 scenario, while the Ile-de-France and Hauts regions -de-France, Ile-de-France Mobilités, the city of Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne preferred to wait until the end of 2025.