THE project to convert Line 4 of the Paris metro to automatic operation has been completed, with all services now operated with driverless trains running under ATO at Grade of Automation 4 (GoA4).
Four trains began operating in driverless mode alongside manually-driven trains on September 12 2023. Completion of the transition of the Line 4 fleet of 52 trains to driverless operation was announced on January 19.
Line 4 is operated with three types of rubber-tyred rolling stock: the MP89 and MP05 trains first introduced on Line 14, and the new MP14 fleet.
Running for 13.9km from Porte de Clignancourt to Bagneux-Lucie Aubrac, Line 4 is the second-busiest line on the Paris metro according to operator RATP, carrying 700,000 passengers a day.
Conversion to automatic operation has cost €480m, met entirely by regional transport authority Île-de-France Mobility. Work on the project began in 2016 and has been undertaken without major closures, says RATP.
Infrastructure work has included raising platform heights and installing platform screen doors at the 29 stations on Line 4. The screen doors total over 5km in length and feature real-time passenger information displays.
The Line 4 control centre has been completely upgraded and is now equipped with the SAET automatic train operating system and new video and audio systems enabling staff to communicate with passengers on the trains and in stations.
Control centre equipment and software was supplied by Siemens Mobility, which also installed CBTC signalling on the route, its depots and fleet of 52 trains. Automation is expected to increase operational efficiency, reduce delays, and lower traction energy consumption by up to 15%.
Among the other advantages of automatic operation, RATP highlights the increase in line capacity, the ability to adapt the train service to meet demand in real time, and the reduction in headways between services from 105 to 85 seconds.
Driverless operation should also enable more staff to be deployed on the trains and in stations to assist passengers, which should prove useful as Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games from July 26 to August 11.
Following Line 1, Line 4 is the second line in Paris to be converted to driverless operation. Île-de-France Mobility is considering other existing lines for conversion, including Line 13.
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