It's now just a matter of days. On 24 June, the extension of line 14 of the Paris metro will open to the public as far as Saint-Denis-Pleyel station in the north and, more importantly, Paris-Orly airport, with President Emmanuel Macron expected to attend the inauguration. Begun in 2018, this extraordinary project, entirely underground, was originally scheduled for completion in 2027. But the project has taken a boost with the award of the Olympic Games to Paris in 2024, by which time the line should serve seven additional stations to the south of the capital: Maison Blanche, Hôpital Bicêtre, Villejuif-G. Roussy, L'Hay-les-Roses, Chevilly-Larue, Thiais-Orly and terminating at Orly airport. All at an estimated cost of €2.8 billion for infrastructure and €1.3 billion for rolling stock.
Orly is just 20 minutes from Paris
The airport hub will be accessible in 23 minutes from Gare de Lyon and 25 minutes from Châtelet. For passengers, the new 14 km automatic line will represent a time saving of 50% compared with using the RER B and then the Orlyval. Additional stations have also been created to serve a catchment area of 260,000 inhabitants. This will boost daily passenger numbers on line 14 to 650,000, according to RATP, and to one million by the end of 2025.
Before that, however, it is expected to handle around 800,000 passengers on race days. during the Olympic GamesSaint-Denis-Pleyel station supplies a number of sites including the Stade de France, the Olympic swimming pool, the athletes' village and the Cité du Cinéma. The same goes for the new H4 Hotel Wyndham Paris Pleyel, which is taking up residence in the completely renovated Pleyel Tower.
To cope with this anticipated traffic, RATP estimates that it will be able to offer a train every 90 seconds or so at peak times, with metros travelling at up to 80 km/h in the tunnel between Olympiades station and the next stations, as far as Orly. Some fifteen brand new trainsets will be added to the service between now and July, out of a total of 37 ordered. Designed by the manufacturer Alstom, these high-capacity metros can carry up to 1,000 people and offer luggage space for passengers departing from or arriving at Orly airport. They will also have USB sockets for recharging electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptops.
Line 14 is intended to relieve traffic from metro line 13 and RER line B to Saint-Denis. In the longer term, line 14 will become a sort of backbone of the Grand Paris Express network, connecting to RER line D and future metro lines 16 and 17 in 2026, 18 in 2027 (also to Orly airport) and 15 in 2030.
Specific pricing
It will cost €11.50 to get to Orly airport from the centre of Paris on line 14 (compared with €14.50 for the combined RER+Orlyval ticket), but accessibility will be free for holders of a monthly or annual Navigo pass. It should be noted that during the period of the Olympic Games, from 20 July to 8 September, the price of a single ticket to Orly on line 14 - and also to Roissy-CDG on RER B - will rise to €16. However, this fare will remain unchanged for holders of a Liberté+ card, and will still be included in the monthly or annual Navigo pass. The Paris 2024 pass, priced at €16 per day, will include services to both airports. The Saint-Denis-Pleyel station will be accessible at the price of a normal ticket (Ticket+ at €17.35 per book of ten or €2.15 per unit and, during the Olympic Games, at €32 per ten and €4 per unit).
