The Grand Paris Express: A Promise of Urban Renewal
The Grand Paris Express: A Promise of Urban Renewal
At the heart of the transformation of the Greater Paris Metropolis (MGP) region, which aims to reshape the Paris metropolitan area, mobility takes center stage and manifests itself in many different ways.
Whether it involves modernizing public transit, promoting more sustainable individual mobility, or the Grand Paris Express project, led by the Société des Grands Projets, the transformation of the region presents numerous challenges.
Equans France, a subsidiary of the Equans Group—one of the world’s leading energy and services providers—is a key partner in this urban transformation, combining technical expertise with a global vision. Through the diverse range of expertise brought to bear on its projects, Equans France offers a unique perspective on this meticulously planned program. Through a series of concrete projects, the goal is to ensure the safety, performance, and appeal of new infrastructure, while supporting a sustainable, cost-effective, and innovative approach to construction and operations.
Improving transportation connectivity, powering metro systems, enhancing the reliability of public transit, integrating sustainable mobility options from the design phase of urban projects, facilitating the coordination of construction sites for train stations and service facilities using BIM, and ensuring the safety of infrastructure and users; Equans’ various entities have been supporting the far-reaching transformation of the Île-de-France region from the very beginning.
The Grand Paris Express, led by the Société des grands projets, is the most significant component of the Greater Paris region’s transportation projects: its new metro lines will connect the main residential and business centers in the suburbs without passing through Paris.
A project that will make travel easier, open up previously isolated areas, reduce inequalities, and cut CO₂ emissions by at least 14.2 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalents by 2050.
Thanks to the expertise of its teams, Equans France has won some fifteen major contracts as part of public procurement processes led by the Société des grands projets within the GPE’s scope.
These contracts include, for example, the private LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile network (lines 15, 16, and 17), ventilation and smoke extraction systems for tunnels (lines 14 South, 15 South, 16, 17, and 18), platform facades (lines 14, 16, 17, and 18), as well as power supply contracts: high-voltage and medium-voltage lots (line 18, 16.3, and 17.2), Traction (Lines 16 and 17), and the catenary lot (Aulnay Operations Center (CEA)). Equans is also involved in the installation of signaling equipment (Line 14 & CEA).
In total, through entities such as Ineo Rail, Ineo UTS, Ineo Sclé Ferroviaire, Ineo Infracom, Ineo Tertiaire, Axima Tunnel, Axima Air, Bouygues Energies & Services as well as SXD, Equans, etc.Q will operate 68 stations on the rail network, more than 35 km of overhead and underground power lines for high-voltage (HV), low-voltage (LV), and traction power, and more than 98 ancillary structures for tunnel utilities.
The latest project—and by no means the least important— is the contract awarded for the full design and construction of Line 15, connecting the Bécon-les--Bruyères station to the Saint-Denis–Pleyel station.
As part of this project, in addition to high-voltage and low-voltage systems, HVAC and plumbing at Grésillons Station, Equans France will also be responsible for the design, supply, and installation of the traction and ventilation power supply systems / smoke extraction systems for the 7 km of tunnel, as well as the high-voltage power supply for the 6 service structures and 4 stations along the route, ensuring the success of a project that will cut the daily travel time between La Défense and Saint-Denis-Pleyel by more than half.
For its part, Bouygues Energies & Services will handle the design and construction of the Grand Paris Express Line 15 East from Bobigny to Saint-Ouen, specifically the installation of high-voltage and low-voltage electrical systems, as well as heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems in the new stations.
Key Figures for Line 15
4 stations
Les Grésillons, Les Agnettes, Bois-Colombes, Bécon-Les-Bruyères
7 km
of tunnel
6 projects
for services
240,000
passengers affected
19 minutes (compared to 46 currently)
to connect La Défense to Saint-Denis-Pleyel
Embodying a New Momentum
Through its cross-functional expertise and its commitment to the energy and digital transitions, Equans France plays a central role in the development of the Grand Paris Express and, more broadly, the Greater Paris metropolitan area.
As a subsidiary of the Equans Group, the company embodies a new vision: that of multidisciplinary technical expertise that connects, protects, and powers entire metropolitan areas to transform them into the cities and regions of tomorrow.
With a workforce of 35,000 employees, Equans France operates at every level across the country, from neighborhoods to major infrastructure projects, and at every stage of its projects’ lifecycle—from feasibility studies to performance monitoring—as a provider of carbon-free, optimized energy that is accessible to all.
It is the combination of this advanced “technical expertise” and acomprehensive big-picture perspective, stemming from the ubiquity of Equans’ services in the life of every building, factory, and region, that gives the company unique foresight in understanding today’s issues and anticipating tomorrow’s challenges.
Outside the Paris metropolitan area, Equans France is redefining how regions are developed by supporting more sustainable transportation and promoting reindustrialization through innovative projects, such as gigafactories, where its expertise has been recognized and sought after across all ongoing projects.
This expertise also extends to the digital transformation of cities, as exemplified by the ALM (Angers Loire Métropole) project, France’s first “smart and sustainable region.”
Designed to enhance the region’s appeal, the project integrates a wide range of Equans’ services, including mobility solutions (traffic lights, parking, traffic flow management, etc.), to improve residents’ quality of life while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
As for the many challenges still ahead regarding the transportation of tomorrow, a recent survey conducted by Icomera, a subsidiary of Equans France and the world’s leading provider of onboard connectivity solutions for trains, trams, buses, and coaches, points to a new avenue to explore.
Among the hundreds of rail industry professionals surveyed in Europe and North America, more than 89% consider on-board Internet connectivity—and the many benefits it offers in terms of safety, passenger experience, and efficiency—to be crucial for the sector’s future.
