Line 18 of the Grand Paris Express

The project

Line 18 is one of the lines of the Grand Paris Express, the largest public transport project in Europe. This driverless metro will link Orly airport to Versailles, serving the Saclay plateau, one of the country's leading scientific and university hubs.

For much of its route, the line runs on a viaduct. Its elevated stations are landmark structures: they must combine comfort, accessibility, energy performance and integration into areas undergoing major change. Every day they will welcome thousands of passengers: students, researchers, employees and residents of the west of the Île-de-France region.

A first section of four stations, between Massy-Palaiseau and Christ de Saclay, is due to enter service at the end of 2026, before the extension to Orly airport.

Miles Group's role

Franck, a Miles Group consultant, works as owner's engineer project manager for the elevated stations. Alongside the project owner, he acts as conductor across three areas.

Stakeholder management and coordination

• monitoring of studies;
• interface between the project owner, the prime contractor (maîtrise d'œuvre) and the works contractors;
• anticipating technical and contractual issues.

Operational follow-up and quality

• checking the compliance of the works;
• ensuring Grand Paris Express standards are properly applied;
• monitoring schedules and budgets.

Strategic support

• supporting the project owner's decision-making;
• progress reporting;
• technical support at every stage of the project.

What this project demands

An elevated station brings together, in a single structure, high-rise civil engineering, rail equipment, automation systems, platform screen doors, electrical installations and demanding accessibility requirements. Dozens of contractors work at the same time, with many interfaces. The owner's engineer keeps the overall picture: making information flow, spotting risks before they turn into delays, and enabling the project owner to decide quickly and well.