“It’s a revolution for Île-de-France”: metro line 14 finally extended to Saint-Denis Pleyel

“It’s a project that comes from afar. It’s collective work, it’s what the Republic knows how to do, by bringing together all the forces of the nation,” exclaims Emmanuel Macron cheerfully. The President of the Republic was present in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), this Monday June 24, 2024to inaugurate the “Saint-Denis Pleyel” station, the new northern terminus of line 14. Under a blazing sun, the station is finally open to the public.

This event is the culmination of a project started nine years ago. “It’s a revolution for Île-de-France,” enthuses Jean Castex, CEO of RATP. “It’s a major choice to create suburban-suburb lines. Until then the metro was Parisian,” continues the former Prime Minister. This station is intended to become an important hub in the north of Paris with the arrival, by 2030, lines 15, 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express. The Pleyel urban crossing already provides the connection with the RER D at Stade-de-France-Saint-Denis.

“The backbone of the Paris metro”

The inauguration comes shortly after the opening of the Pleyel urban crossing (FUP). All of these infrastructures are intended to make the new Saint-Denis Pleyel station an intermodal platform like Châtelet-les-Halles in the center of Paris. “Line 14 will become the backbonethe backbone of the Paris metro,” notes Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region and Île-de-France Mobilités. She also describes the station from “New Châtelet”: “Saint-Denis becomes the second capital of Île-de-France,” she smiles.

To carry out this work, it took one billion and 200,000 euros from Île-de-France Mobilités and the Société des Grands Projets. The operating cost should reach “one billion euros per year”, according to Valérie Pécresse.

The station gives a futuristic impression with its large vertical wooden panels which break on metal diagonals. The labyrinth of escalators accentuates this impression of gigantism. “The choice of the architect was very focused on the play between wood and light,” explains Émilie Durutty, project manager of the station. She then explains the wishes of the architect, Kengo Kuma: “The game is made on the light which passes through the entire station. Everything is done around that, it’s designed like origami. »

“Line 14 will be a millionaire”

Saint-Denis Pleyel was originally to be the terminus of line 14 from its first inauguration, in 2020. But various project management problems delayed the deadline. For example, a pipe that was pierced during work delayed by several months the resumption of the construction site and the extension of the Valérie tunnel (named after Valérie Fratellini, director of the Fratellini Academy, a large circus art school in St Denis).

With this extension to the north and south, the latest addition to the RATP network gains 14 kilometers and becomes the longest metro line in the Parisian network. From Saint-Denis Pleyel to Orly airport, it will now take 40 minutes and no additional cost if you have a Navigo pass.

A major asset for the Olympics: “Paris is preparing to welcome the world. It was important that the work was finished on time,” says Jean Castex. Who concludes by recalling that the line “will be part of the legacy of the Games. » Indeed, the extension of line 14 also aims to relieve congestion on line 13: “Line 14 will be a millionaire. We expect more than a million daily passengers on the line,” concludes Valérie Pécresse.

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