RATP Group has completed a number of brownfield and greenfield projects across Paris and is bringing this experience to the global market.
RATP Group, along with its international subsidiary RATP Dev, has been using its experience in operations, maintenance, and project management to deliver and support projects across the globe.
RATP Dev was recently awarded the contract for Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Line as a part of the Parklife Metro Consortium in which RATP Dev is the operations and maintenance partner.
RATP Group will be leaning on its experience operating 24 metro lines globally, 11 of which are fully automated either in operation or under construction. The company believes mobilising its in-house experts and a constant drive for innovation is what ensures success working across major projects.
Integration
General Manager Australia New Zealand for RATP Dev, Denis Masure said that thorough knowledge of project life cycles, equipment and infrastructure, combined with operational agility across transport modes and demanding projects, as well as a socially responsible culture, are all qualities that ensures RATP Group can meet any challenge.
“RATP Group’s key strength lies in integrating its areas of expertise required for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transport systems, which guarantees project consistency and sustainability,” Masure said.
“We have the capability to issue project requirements before the design stage to ensure enhanced reliability, availability, maintainability and safety levels.
“RATP Group boasts the full range of skills and expertise required in its multiple roles as designer, project owner, project manager, transport and maintenance operator.”
The group has extensive multi-modal experience across commuter rail, metros, trams and buses, all of which the organisation leans on when working on new major projects.
“Project managers have proven field knowledge in operating and maintaining public transport systems, and in the essential professions involved in infrastructure construction,” Masure said.
“Their expertise is also fine-tuned through the internal career evolution offered by the group so engineering teams can build a track record in operations and maintenance.”
Masure said this allows project managers to anticipate future requirements, and to factor them into specifications and program schedules.
RATP Group understands that the majority of major projects across the globe operate with a range of stakeholders. Masure said this understanding is pivotal to its success. The group consolidates projects by co-ordinating stakeholders operating in the same scopes. This was exemplified in recent work completed in Paris.
Major construction in Paris
Work began in 2016 to automate metro line 4 and was completed at the end of 2023 with no disruptions to the line or the work itself.
Other major projects RATP Group contributed to include line extensions on the north and south metro line 14, on metro line 11 and on tram line T3b, all before the Olympic Games began.
Masure said that RATP Group completed the work by adhering to four driving principles.
Ensuring service continuity during ongoing works was its first priority. Twelve million passengers use the service daily. Masure said RATP Group understands that continual service needs to be a priority so that a line upgrade does not penalise hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Works are conducted at night and major track possessions are not implemented unless compulsory. Alternative itineraries or replacement bus services are provided and communicated beforehand.
The next principle is leveraging in-house and partner engineering expertise to adapt to the specific conditions of projects. The organisation looks to support companies working in and around it with its own expertise. The third principle is complying with schedules and budgets. RATP has honed its commitment to this principle by completing projects in the agreed time frames, while keeping within a fixed budget.
The line 14 South extension to Orly Airport was delivered in six years as opposed to the initial eight proposed, to ensure it was ready in time for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The final and critical principle is guaranteeing safety in all daily activities. To ensure business as usual during works, meticulous adaptation is required across safety systems and a safety compliance demonstration is compulsory at the end of each night shift.
Unique challenges
RATP operates a long-serving network in Paris and extending these networks poses unique challenges. This experience running complex systems at various points of the life cycle is the key to success when working on major projects, according to Masure.
The century-old metro line 4 was extended and automated in 2022. Running from north to south, it serves as a major long-distance line with train stations and strategic hubs, while carrying 700,000 passengers daily.
Alongside the line’s extension, automation works were launched in 2016 with the goal of improving service quality and transport capacity. This decision was made following the successful automation of metro line 1.
The transformation was completed as planned in December 2023, with the operations control centre also renovated in preparation for the line’s automation.
On metro line 14, RATP Group contributed to the doubling in length of the line. Masure said this work demonstrated the company’s ability to not only work on brownfield projects but also contribute to greenfield projects.
As part of metro line 14 extensions, the new segments and the existing line had to match to ensure operations were smooth. It required the automation system (CBTC) to be fully renewed and improved by a next-generation system. Masure described it as an unprecedented technical feat.
Adding more than 14 kilometres to the line, eight new stations and a new maintenance centre and depot, were all completed in record time to ensure the line was operational for the Olympic Games. Masure said the key to success was the way the organisation carried out trials.
“Transport operators and maintenance operators were mobilised, thereby raising standards and efficiency to ensure the line could get underway far quicker,” he said.
“Among its multiple challenges, the project had to meet a tight schedule, simultaneously operate three tunnel boring machines, accommodate new rolling stock, and integrate a new automated driving system.”
The project had to be co-ordinated with the region’s industrial players and stakeholders including construction company Société des Grands Projets, international airport operator Aéroports de Paris, and government organisation Île-de-France Mobilités.
Another challenge was the integration of metro line 14 close to Orly Airport infrastructure, and its connection to tram line T7.
The line now offers direct connection to the Stade de France in Saint-Denis-Pleyel north of Paris, and the Paris-Orly airport in the south, with a headway of 85 seconds between trains.
Masure said the success of the project was showcased during the Olympic Games, with no service failures reported during the event.
The group’s extensive expertise in metro operations was also instrumental in extending metro line 11, showcasing its ability to design and execute highly complex projects.
Six new stations were delivered for this six-kilometre extension, as well as modernising 10 of the 13 existing stations to accommodate the new rolling stock with increased capacity from four to five cars. It also called for the construction of a new operations control centre.
Civil engineering, railway systems, energy, and public transport systems, as well as station design, equipment, lift pumps and ventilation systems formed various components of the group’s project management.
Leveraging its metro operations expertise, the group effectively co-ordinated various industrial contributors to meet project deadlines.
Another challenge was ensuring seamless integration between rolling stock upgrades and the connection and construction of a new maintenance centre at Rosny-sous-Bois.
A unique set of skills
The organisation understands the importance of optimising the life cycle of rolling stock as a way of supporting major projects. This equipment durability contributes to the group’s efficiency.
The life cycle is optimised across France’s regional network by transferring rolling stock from one line to another, Masure said. RATP Group will also repair and retrofit older equipment to optimise its life cycle and help to curb the environmental impact.
With new MP 14 trains deployed on metro line 14, the group seized the opportunity to repurpose the rolling stock to metro line 1. The automated MP 89 trains previously on metro line 1 were redeployed to metro line 4, which at the time was undergoing automation. MP 89 trains with a driver’s cabin, which had been running on metro line 4 until its full automation, were subsequently reassigned to metro line 6.
Henri Pottier, Chief Executive Officer of RATP Dev APAC region said that what made the redeployment exceptional was the successful switch while ensuring the compatibility of the rolling stock in question with each infrastructure and systems.
“The goal was to centralise the command and control of trains, shuttles, stations, terminuses, and in the case of metro line 14, maintenance,” he said.
“By co-ordinating teams and state-of-the-art technologies more efficiently, the network is able to broadcast more responsive passenger information and improve incident management.”
Major projects led by RATP Group benefit from its approach to continuous innovation, especially in the maintenance area. Anticipating breakdowns, and limiting their impact, are some of the key goals of predictive maintenance.
Data gathered from sensors that are embedded on trains and tracks allow the group to continuously monitor the operational status of its assets. By analysing such data, breakdowns can be anticipated, indicating exactly how and when to conduct repairs.
Efficiency in maintenance is also enhanced by virtual reality. RATP Group uses this cutting-edge technology to simulate maintenance operations through digital representations of trains and maintenance centres.
In the future, maintenance operators will be equipped with augmented reality glasses, which will provide them with instructions from a remotely connected expert guiding them through their operations.
Working with local partners
As part of a global network, RATP understands its role will differ in major projects and understands the importance of effective communication with various stakeholders to benefit from industry-wide vision and experience across the entire value chain.
This experience has proven to be invaluable. The metro line 14 extension to Orly Airport was one example of this stakeholder management.
Connecting metro line 14 to metro line 15 on the future Grand Paris Express network, by tunnelling under the airport’s runways, required close co-operation between teams from construction company Société des Grands Projets, international airport operator Aéroports de Paris, and government organisation Île-de-France Mobilités.
Partnering with construction partners is important, but Pottier said RATP Group understands it is critical to foster relationships with transport authorities as well.
Most often, these groups are funding the work RATP Group is completing. By regularly monitoring cost and schedules, the group provides these bodies with accurate reporting that eases their decision-making process.
“Co-ordinating these assets is a feat in itself, involving the evaluation and integration of various parties into complex schedules,” Pottier said.
“When the opening date of the metro line 14 extension was brought forward, the group mobilised its project owner partners and rescheduled operations, while keeping to agreed budgets and time frames.”
On metro line 11 and line 14 extensions, RATP Group relied on its in-house project management division to build the transport system which included railways, signalling, and power supply, while outsourcing miscellaneous works on roads and networks.
This experience has been pivotal to the company’s success but the long-term relationships it has formed are invaluable.
“We worked closely with Siemens Mobility and Alstom to leverage their experience and expertise as transport operators and maintainers to perfect their rolling stock,” Pottier said.
Major works also serve as a platform for integrating local workforces into the project.
“Workforce integration clauses are systematically included in all project management contracts,” Pottier said.
“For instance, the recent southward extension of metro line 14 generated 460,000 workforce integration hours. RATP Group relies on regional facilitators, who mobilise local employment stakeholders. The group works together with these facilitators to encourage contracting companies to promote long-term employment, upskilling, training and the development of workforce integration programs.”
Sustainability
RATP Group has long been committed to a strict approach to corporate social and environmental responsibility, in which its major projects are seen as opportunities for change and to create more resilient cities.
This commitment is evident in the large-scale initiative to introduce greenery across the group’s properties, which not only introduces nature back into the city, but, crucially, uses plant species that consume less water, such as the grass on tram line T3b platforms.
Given the increasing frequency of droughts, the group has acted on various fronts to conserve water including optimising consumption, and recovering and reusing non-potable water.
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