SNCF Réseaux's work on the CDG Express is progressing apace, with 80% already completed. This has enabled the consortium, which also includes Aéroport de Paris (ADP) and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), to announce the start date for links between Gare de l'Est and terminal 2 at Roissy-CDG airport: on Sunday 28 March 2027.
However, the inauguration will take place three years later than planned, as the 32-kilometre service (including 8 kilometres of new track) operated by Hello Paris (a joint venture between Keolis and RATP Dev) has not yet been brought into service. initially planned for the Olympic Games of Paris 2024. The much-criticised project has been the subject of much criticism and procrastination due to its excessive cost of €2.6 billion.
The CDG Express aims to reduce the proportion of cars travelling to and from the airport in the north of the capital, to ease congestion on RER BThe CDG Express will also improve the regularity of service for passengers. The consortium estimates that the CDG Express will take 15% of traffic from the A1 and A3 and reduce CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes.
A train every 15 minutes during the day
A train will run in each direction every 15 minutes from 5am to midnight, 7 days a week. The price of this fast journey is expected to reach 24€This compares with €13 for a Paris Région Aéroports ticket. For this price, passengers will have access to luggage storage, wifi and information on flights departing from CDG displayed on the platforms at Gare de l'Est and in the trains. Departures will be from Paris Est stationin the western part of the building, from lanes 2, 3 or 4.
In the meantime, the completion of the works - including the replacement of a bridge at Saint-Denis - will result in service interruptions on RER B as well as disruption on the TER and several other suburban lines (D, H and K). The first tests of the Régiolis trains assembled by the Alstom group will begin this autumn.
To be profitable in the long term, Hello Paris hopes that the CDG Express will attract more than 9 million passengers a year. To support this volume, a new underground tunnel is currently under construction to link Gare de l'Est with neighbouring Gare du Nord. This line should also be operational when the CDG Express opens.
