The vice-president of the Metropolis discusses the timetable for the new tram line and the major problems encountered during the work.
Will you be in time to inaugurate line 5 on December 20, 2025?
Yes, it’s a safe date. To make sure you don’t have any problems. The teams were put to the test to achieve this result. I remind you that the western section should have been delivered in 2027.
The teams managed to shave two years off the schedule. But we are responding to the political objective set by Michaël Delafosse. His promise will be fulfilled, the line will be delivered on time, there will be no delay. We will be ready on December 20 at 11 a.m. and the next day it will circulate for the population.
The biggest problem with networks
Apart from the big difficulty in the Gambetta car park, have you had any big problems on the construction site?
The Gambetta problem is by far the most important but we also had a big problem on the Place du 8 Mai 1945. To pull the networks, Enedis had to drill more than 10 meters to go under the networks.
They sent drilling heads which encountered an obstacle, we don’t know what it is, but we couldn’t break through this obstacle, it must be said that there are all the old networks, the old cabling in the oldest areas of the city.
When you open it, it’s a bit nonsense! On everything we don’t see. Enedis lost €200,000 in the operation. This forced us to make Boulevard Berthelot one-way for almost 10 months. Now everything is back on track…
