• The German manufacturer Siemens Mobility has announced a further postponement of the delivery of line B of the Rennes metro.

  • An announcement that somewhat annoyed the president of Rennes Métropole Nathalie Appéré.

  • The opening date, which should be known at the beginning of June, should have significant consequences for the rest of the bus network.

His face was closed, as it had rarely been seen.

This Tuesday in a too narrow meeting room of the Rennes Métropole hotel, Nathalie Appéré let the president of Siemens Mobility announce yet another postponement of the delivery of line B. Hands down, eyes black, Nathalie Appéré listened Laurent Bouyé detail the technical constraints that his teams face.

Faced with problems with the guide roller and the “automatic awakening” of the Cityval trains that it developed for Rennes, the German manufacturer will not be able to deliver the work at the end of May as it had promised.

When can he do it?

We still don't know since it will be necessary to wait for "early June" for Siemens to commit to an opening schedule.

Amid technical and timing questions, we asked the mayor of Rennes for her feelings about this new delay.

Annoyed?

Impatient?

“Probably a bit of all of that at the same time.

When we make commitments, we like to keep them.

When we have to see that third-party commitments are not kept, there is a part of disappointment coupled with exasperation, I will not hide it.

I have to say how frustrating I am.

This commissioning, I was waiting for it, I was hoping for it with the Rennaises and the Rennais”.

Unfortunate consequences on the whole network

Started in 2013, the colossal construction site of line B of the metro is a major project that will redesign part of the city.

The envelope of 1.3 billion euros allocated must not simply make it possible to run a metro, it must also relieve the city center of Rennes of hundreds of buses every day.

But also avoid resorting to the car which causes so many problems of congestion and pollution.

Its umpteenth postponement (it is the fourth) thus jeopardizes the overhaul of the network managed by Keolis.

“September is a complex time.

We had thought that the commissioning could be done before the end of May to have a summer operation where there are fewer passengers and to be at full capacity for September.

This is what we have been working on with Keolis for months”.

With this new hiccup “it is the whole redeployment of the network which is delayed”, warns Nathalie Appéré, specifying that “the implementation of the new traffic plan” will also have to be rethought.

The famous Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) will still have to wait.

Quite annoyed by the situation, the mayor nevertheless wanted to recall the context in which line A was opened in 2002. “It's a very upsetting element, I don't take it lightly.

Even if we must not forget the technical considerations of this project.

Line A has an availability rate of 99.8%.

But that was not the case for the first few months.

Formidably efficient, the first line of the Rennes metro celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

While she carries 150,000 passengers every day, she is still waiting for her little sister.

reindeer

Rennes: The opening of line B of the metro once again delayed

reindeer

Rennes: Soon a free electric shuttle in the city center

  • reindeer

  • Nathalie Appere

  • Metro

  • Line B

  • Delay

  • Construction site

  • Public transport

  • Keolis

  • Brittany