The overall pattern of public transport network of Greater Paris has been published in the Official Gazette today (Friday, August 26, 2011).
– A red line: Le Bourget – Chelles – Villejuif – La Défense – Gonesse – Roissy / Le Mesnil-Amelot of 95 km and 40 stations.
– A blue line: Orly – Saint-Denis – Pleyel 30 km (about 9 km correspond to the line current 14 and 6 km extension between City Hall and St-Lazare Saint-Ouen).
– A green line: Orly – Versailles – Nanterre 50 km and 13 stations. The metro will be largely underground, but will have some parts in the open « air ». The project also includes a complementary network, but its definitions and funding seem less clear.
Three new lines and more than 20 billion budget for progressive commissioning between 2018 and 2023, two million passengers a day and perhaps 3 million to run. The entire subway system in Paris is now home to an average of 5 million daily trips.
More good news if all goes as planned, this new network will be faster than current networks: 65 km / h. This does not seem extraordinary, but the average speed of the RER is 44 km / h, that of line 14 (driverless metro) is 40 km / h, that of the Paris metro 25 to 30 km / h, and the Tramway 20 km / h.
11 years delayed, the Ile de France has finally made its entry into the next century.