The president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, made the first trip on the extension of the RER E, extended to the west after seven years of work to become “the new east-west backbone of the region ” she said on Monday.
The inauguration ceremony of the RER E extension from Haussmann-Saint-Lazare to Nanterre-La Folie took place on Friday in the presence of the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, but the service only opened to travelers on Monday.
For the moment, trains only run off-peak, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., at the rate of one train every quarter of an hour and on weekends, the service lasts until 8:00 p.m.
The service will not be complete until the end of the year with 16 trains per hour during rush hour, time to break in the rolling stock, brand new RER NG manufactured by Alstom.
“It is a new line which will be crucial, key, for all transport in the region”, insisted Valérie Pécresse, who also chairs the Ile-de-France Mobilités transport authority (IDFM).
During the inauguration of the RER E extension to the west of Paris, May 3, 2024 at the newly created Porte Maillot station / Thomas SAMSON / AFP
“By shortening distances, it brings a lot of quality of life to all the inhabitants of Ile-de-France,” she added at Nanterre station, now accessible from Saint-Lazare in just 11 minutes.
With this extension, the RER E becomes the fastest underground train in the Paris region with a speed of 120 km/h. “We will be able to make Gare du Nord La Défense direct”, which will improve the attractiveness of the business district now connected “in a few stations to Gare du Nord to go to London, Brussels, Frankfurt, it is so extraordinary,” enthused the regional president.
In this first train to the west, few regular travelers of the future line but many train enthusiasts, who came to witness the first run on this new infrastructure.
“I will save at least half an hour on my journey,” confides Elyes Saadi, teacher in Neuilly-sur-Seine, who lives near the Rosa Parks station in Paris and is delighted with the new Neuilly-Porte Maillot station on the route of the E.
Certain details remain to be refined, such as the signage on the trains which does not yet display everywhere the three new stations served by the line.
From now on, the next stage of the project is to bring the RER E to Mantes-La-Jolie, with delivery planned for the end of 2026. SNCF and IDFM then anticipate 650,000 daily passengers on the RER E, compared to 370,000 currently.
