Paris Rail Link Won't Be Ready by 2024

(ATR) Paris 2024 organizers say the French government’s decision to postpone the launch of a direct rail link connecting the city center to the main Paris airport "will not impact on the successful organization" of the Games.

The Charles de Gaulle Express was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023 but the French government says to meet that deadline would have been too disruptive to commuters who use an existing high-speed rail link between Paris and its suburbs.

Paris 2024 agrees with the decision, saying in a statement "Like the government and the region’s stakeholders, Paris 2024 is fully committed to reducing the impact of construction work on everyday transport".

"This willingness to put the interests of everyday rail users first during preparations for the Games is fully in keeping with the new Games model, which seeks to ensure that the event accommodates itself to the host region and not the other way round."

The timetable to complete the Charles de Gaulle Express has now been pushed back to the end of 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Once completed, it will cut the time from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport to the city center from about an hour to just 20 minutes.

While visitors for the Olympics will have to endure a lengthy trip to and from the airport, Paris 2024 says the delayed high-speed link "is not essential" since it does not serve any Olympic or Paralympic venues.

The rail link was included in the Paris 2024 candidature file as one of the infrastructure projects scheduled to be ready ahead of the Games and "upon which Paris 2024 was likely to rely".

Written by Gerard Farek

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