Is the CDG Express finally on the right track? "The concession contract will be signed in the next few days"Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne assures us in an interview with Le Parisien, confirming the government's determination to see the project come to fruition. direct link between Roissy airport and Paris supported by the ADP Group and SNCF Réseau. A long-running issue for over twenty years, the CDG Express is scheduled for early 2024 and will link Paris CDG terminal 2 to Gare de l'Est in around twenty minutes.
Planned for December, the signing of this contract had to be postponed in the face of the concerns of many stakeholders, ranging from user associations to elected representatives from the Ile-de-France region, starting with the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the president of the region, Valérie Pécresse. The cause, the possible repercussions of the CDG Express worksite on daily traffic on RER B, which is already saturated and often chaotic. Following a consultation mission led by Michel Cadot, Prefect of the Île-de-France region, his report, published on 4 February, concludes that "an acceptable impact on RER B service quality in 2019 and 2020".
"From my point of view, nothing stands in the way on signing the concession contract"concluded the prefect. Work could therefore start soon, as the timetable gets tighter. "The target of opening service for the Paris Olympic Games is tenable, subject to certain conditions"says the report. However, the Minister for Transport is not ruling out the possibility of this date being postponed if the work is affected: "we're not locked into a timetable which would be unrealistic. The aim is to provide service for the Olympic Games, but this will not be at the expense of everyday transport.". In any case, one thing seems certain: a long period of works lies ahead on this strategic route for the people of Ile-de-France and business travellers.
