The last station on line 14 to open and the first on the future line 15, the Villejuif – Gustave Roussy station should welcome its first travelers during the month of January 2025. In the meantime, we had the opportunity to discover it in advance. premiered during a press visit organized on December 19. We tell you about this dive into the heart of what will be the second deepest station in France!
Since June 24 and the extension of line 14 to the north and south to Orly, trains cross it, but do not stop there. There Villejuif station – Gustave Roussy is the last station on line 14 still closed to this day. But let the most impatient rest assured, it’s only a matter of weeks. During January 2025, the 8th and final station of the extension of line 14 should welcome its first passengers. Located four stops from the Orly Airport terminus, the Villejuif station – Gustave Roussy was worth the wait.
This Thursday, December 19, 2024 in the morning, during a press visit organized by the Major Projects Company (in charge of the design and construction of the Grand Paris Express), we discover this spectacularly sized station, designed by the architect’s agency Dominique Perrault.
Revealing a circular shape, the Villejuif station – Gustave Roussy has 6 entrances in total, all distributed over an urban space of 7,500 m², located on the heights of the commune of Villejuif, in the Val-de-Marne.
Once inside, you can only be impressed by this gigantic transparent glass roof in the shape of an eye, letting in daylight, and this deep underground well, revealing 9 underground levels! In detail, the quays of the ligne 14 are located at level -7, or 36.7 meters deep, while those of the line 15 South are located at level -9, exactly 48.8 meters deep! With such figures, the Villejuif station – Gustave Roussy will be the second deepest station on the Grand Paris Express, and in France, after the future Saint-Maur – Créteil station (line 15), located at a depth of 52m.
A true technical feat, it took two tunnel boring machines – Alisson and Amandine – so that lines 14 and 15 South could cross perpendicularly in the heart of the station shaft. Other figures: 300,000 m3 of earth, the equivalent of 120 Olympic swimming pools, were excavated for the digging of this circular station with a diameter of 60m by 50m depth!
Iconic station of Grand Paris Expressit is also a connection station. Starting in the summer of 2026, if everything goes according to plan, then the Villejuif station – Gustave Roussy will serve the line 15 Southin addition to line 14.
Our visit continues. At all levels, workers are busy completing the final adjustments. We then take one of the many escalators at this station. To give you a little idea, 16 elevators and 32 escalators – including 2 monumental staircases 40m long – were installed within this station. And the descent towards the platforms of line 14 is impressive. Looking up, you can see the gigantic glass dome allowing this station to be illuminated with natural light up to the deepest level. That morning, the sun was not there. But the structure is indeed bathed in light. To the right and left, other escalators face each other. Simply dizzying.
Once on the line 14 platformswe discover the very beautiful illustrations signed Matthias Lehmannwho was inspired by the surroundings and the town of Villejuif to create.
Much more than just a station, the Villejuif station – Gustave Roussy was thought of as a “station that connects the world below and below“. If a transport ticket will be necessary to access the deepest levels, the first two levels (-1 and -2) will give way in 2026 to various businesses; around seventeen, depending on Bernard Cathelainmember of the board of directors of the Société des Grands Projets, present during this visit. No need for a ticket to access it.
Always according to Bernard Cathelainup to 100,000 travelers will use this station every day when line 15 South is inaugurated. Eagerly awaited by many Ile-de-France residents, in particular by caregivers at the first cancer center in Europe, Gustave Roussy, it will also be frequented by residents of the future new district. Campus Grand Parc ». « It is aimed at more than 19,000 inhabitants living within a radius of 1 km », It is specified on the Grand Paris Express website.
This December 19, the Major Projects Company officially handed over the keys to the station to Île-de-France Mobilités. If the exact opening date of the station (for line 14) has not yet been revealed, the commissioning should take place around the mid-January 2025. The platforms of line 15 South will not open until summer 2026. This is when travelers will also be able to admire the artist’s work Ivan Navarro. Located on the platforms of the future line 15 South, the work of the Chilean artist will be composed of neon lights and mirrors giving the illusion of infinite depth and forming a futuristic sundial.
