Updated on 21/9 at 1.30pm
It was one of the major projects planned for the 2024 Olympic Games. The transformation of Gare du Nord will not go ahead after all. Or at least not right away, or in the manner provided for under the concession contract awarded in February 2019 to Ceetrus, the Auchan group's property subsidiary. SNCF Gares & Connexions announced yesterday that a decision " will be taken very shortly on the future of this concession." . A polite way of saying that this project, the cost of which is spiralling dangerously out of control, is in serious trouble...
" Accounts have been requested from StatioNord (Editor's note: joint venture between SNCF Gares & Connexions (34%) and the property company Ceetrus (66%)) ) on this worrying trend" SNCF said in a press release, with its subsidiary SNCF Gares & Connexions questioning its partner's ability to complete the project, which would have tripled the size of what is already Europe's biggest station.
In addition to the fact that the overall cost of the project has now risen to more than 1.5 billion euros, compared with the three times less initially forecast, this vast project could not, in any event, be completed within the allotted time. to welcome the many visitors expected in the capital. Despite initial delays, the reconfiguration of the Cross-Channel terminal is due to be completed in September 2023, in time to welcome British fans to the Rugby World Cup, with the new areas of the Departures Terminal scheduled for delivery in June 2024.
The metamorphosis of the station had already gone through a series of setbacks and petitions, including appeals from local residents, statements by leading architects against the overly commercial nature of the project and an invitation from Paris City Hall to review the project. many adventures. However, it seemed to be on the right track with the conclusion of a protocol in November 2020 between the SNCF, SNCF Gares & Connexions, SA Gare du Nord 2024 and the City of Paris, which gave the green light to the renovation of this key rail hub.
The abandonment of this project was welcomed by many politicians, particularly on the left, with Julien Bayou, the national secretary of EELV, tweeting " Victory! "on the occasion of this announcement. Also via Twitter, the mayor of the 10th arrondissement said that she would remain "mobilised". working alongside the residents of #Paris10 to bring about a new, more sober and more ecological project to modernise #GareDuNord" .
Will it or won't it? The City of Paris, which has long warned against these " financial and timing risks" invited to " not postponing the modernisation and renovation of the station yet again "and intends to work with SNCF to achieve this. In its press release, it pointed out that the 2024 Olympic Games should remain a common goal to implement this modernisation. For its part, the government supports the idea of an alternative project.
Interviewed by BFM TV, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the French Transport Minister, explained that he had asked SNCF to rethink a much smaller project, in the region of €50 million, to meet the challenges of 2023 and 2024. " The development of Gare du Nord is a serious matterIt is a station that is difficult to manage in terms of traffic flow." he stressed. SNCF Gares & Connexions was also keen to point out that " his attachment " à " to make the renovated Gare du Nord a functional station capable of welcoming even more visitors with improved comfort."
