Grand Paris Express Lines 16 and 17 Delayed by at Least One Year to 2028 and 2029

Delays across northern and eastern lines

On 24 September 2026, the supervisory board of the Société des Grands Projets announced schedule postponements of at least one year for automated metro lines 16 and 17. The two lines, which will serve the northern and eastern suburbs of Paris, were originally scheduled to enter service in 2027 and 2028. Under the revised timetable, the initial section of Line 16 connecting Saint-Denis Pleyel to Parc du Blanc-Mesnil is now scheduled to open in autumn 2028 instead of late 2027. The second section of Line 16, extending from Parc du Blanc-Mesnil to Noisy-Champs, has been deferred by two years to autumn 2029. For Line 17, which runs from Saint-Denis to Le Mesnil-Amelot via the Villepinte Exhibition Center and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, the opening of the first section from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Le Bourget Airport has moved from autumn 2027 to autumn 2028. The second section between Le Bourget Airport and Parc des Expositions has been pushed back from 2028 to autumn 2029, while the final segment to Le Mesnil-Amelot remains set for 2030.

Automation complexity and system integration

The Grand Paris Express network encompasses 200 kilometers of newly built tracks, doubling the size of the existing Paris metro network, and includes 69 new stations across lines 15, 16, 17, and 18. All four lines will operate through a single computerized control system. The schedule modifications follow an in-depth technical study conducted with industrial contractors responsible for automation and centralized systems. Project authorities indicated that coordinating and standardizing the automated infrastructure proved considerably more complex than initially anticipated once tunnel boring was completed. This reassessment follows a previous timetable adjustment announced in June for Line 15 South.

Line 18 launch schedule and Line 15 status

The Société des Grands Projets confirmed that it will transfer operational control of the first section of Line 18 to regional transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités on 13 October 2026. This initial section serves the Saclay plateau and includes four stations: Massy-Palaiseau, Polytechnique, Université Paris-Saclay, and Christ de Saclay. The route is intended to serve thousands of researchers, students, and engineers located in the cluster. Handover in October opens the path to commercial operations around mid-December 2026, following a delay from an earlier autumn timeline. Keolis will conduct trial runs without passengers on tracks maintained by RATP. Elsewhere on the network, Line 15 South remains scheduled for opening in autumn 2027, while the eastern and western sections of Line 15 are projected for 2031.

Political reactions in Seine-Saint-Denis and the region

Elected officials in Seine-Saint-Denis responded critically to the revised timeline. Stéphane Troussel, president of the Seine-Saint-Denis departmental council, joined ten municipal mayors from across the department in a joint statement demanding a halt to successive postponements on lines 16 and 17.

Our disappointment is as great as the expectations raised by the arrival of these new metro lines in Seine-Saint-Denis.

Île-de-France Mobilités noted that it will verify all technical systems before formally accepting the handover of Line 18. Valérie Pécresse, president of Île-de-France Mobilités, called for firmer delivery dates across the entire regional transit expansion.

It is essential to finally stabilize the schedules so as not to provoke a crisis of confidence among residents and local authorities.