Société du Grand Paris has selected Thales and IER to supply revenue collection systems for four Grand Paris Express urban rail network metro lines.
With 68 new stations and close to 200 kilometres of new lines, the Express is the largest transport infrastructure project in Europe. Once complete, it will double the size of the French capital’s existing metro system.
The new lines — 15, 16, 17 and 18 — will bypass the city centre, carrying an expected three million daily passengers between major hubs and destinations in the suburbs of Paris.
Société du Grand Paris invited bids for revenue collection systems to equip the network’s new automatic metro lines. Systems such as these have a vital role to play, helping to shape the future of mobility in today’s increasingly connected, inclusive and constantly evolving world.
Under the new contract, Thales and IER will design and deliver new ticket vending and validation machines and integrate these systems into the existing Île-de-France Mobilités ticketing ecosystem. As part of the contract, the partners will also provide maintenance and upgrade support to future operators of the new lines and to Île-de-France Mobilités, the Paris region transport authority. All this new critical infrastructure will be cyber-secured.
Patrick Jouin ID Agency will manage the design of this equipment and will be in charge of the conception and monitoring of the production of all the equipment and furniture installed in the station.
This contract award, which is testament to Thales and IER’s combined expertise and track record in delivering extremely complex revenue collection systems, comes as Île-de-France Mobilités seeks to modernise its ticketing infrastructure.
The machines will be contactless-ready, bringing the phasing-out of conventional magnetic-stripe cardboard tickets a step closer.