Siemens Mobility and RATP (Régie autonome des transports Parisiens) have successfully modernized and extended the automated Line 14 of the Paris metro. This world premiere marks the first migration of an automated driverless (GoA4 – Grade of Automation) metro line to the latest generation GoA4 driverless automated system ‘Trainguard MT CBTC’.
The new system, which was implemented during the past six years during passenger services, enables more efficient and reliable services on the line that has doubled in length by 14 kilometers due to extensions to the North and South.
Public transportation system
With a remarkable headway of 85 seconds along its entire 28 km route, Line 14 is now the longest line in the Paris network and will eventually accommodate over one million passengers daily. The expansion enables passengers to travel from Orly Airport to Paris city center in 20 minutes and from the northern business districts in Saint-Denis Pleyel to Orly Airport in just 40 minutes.
Over six years, more than 250 Siemens Mobility engineers contributed to this project
With its improved capacity, reliability, and efficiency, Line 14 serves as the backbone of Paris' public transportation system, connecting to the future Grand Paris Express network. Over six years, more than 250 Siemens Mobility engineers contributed to this project, with over 500,000 hours of engineering.
Existing driverless line
"Through the dedication and expertise of our teams, we achieved a world first by migrating an existing driverless line to a more advanced CBTC GoA4 system and extending the automated technology to the line's new sections. This technical premiere enables Line 14 to handle up to one million passengers a day with 85-second headways by 2025,” said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility.
“The timely completion of this crucial metro project for this summer’s world sports event hosted in Paris highlights the immense time pressure and collaborative efforts involved. We are grateful to our valued partners at RATP for their trust and unwavering support, without which this accomplishment would not have been possible.”
Newer version of GoA4 technology
Siemens Mobility teamed up with RATP to create the first driverless high-capacity automated metro line in Paris
Back in 1998, Siemens Mobility teamed up with RATP to create the first driverless high-capacity automated metro line in Paris. In 2018, Siemens Mobility was awarded contracts to overhaul the line’s automation, replacing the 26-year-old ‘METEOR’ system with the advanced Trainguard MT CBTC GoA4 system.
This upgrade included building a new Operations Centralized Control Station (OCC) and equipping 72 new trains. Siemens extended automation north to Saint-Denis-Pleyel and south to Orly Airport by 14 kilometers, doubling the line’s length to 28 km and thus required the installation of a newer version of GoA4 technology; it now connects Orly airport to the Paris city center in just 20 minutes and enables travel from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Orly in only 40 minutes.
Improving reliability and energy consumption
Siemens Mobility's GoA4 CBTC system will also equip the future lines of the Grand Paris Express, the new 200-kilometer automatic metro network currently under construction in the Ile-de-France region. Siemens Mobility has won the contract to automate lines 15, 16, and 17.
The Trainguard MT CBTC system is Siemens Mobility's high-performance CBTC solution that enables operators to maximize their network capacity by putting more trains on track, in addition to improving reliability and energy consumption. The radio-based technology precisely locates each train on the tracks and controls speed, improving safety for passengers, while also providing the ability for continuous updates on system status, that results in fewer delays and up-to-date travel information. The Trainguard MT CBTC is part of Siemens Mobility´s CBTC portfolio, which is deployed on five continents, 25 countries, 49 cities, 56 customers, 96 metro lines, 3,000 km of lines and 4,351 equipped trains.
