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CDG VAL

Automatic service

Keolis once again deployed its expertise as an operator of automatic metro systems with the launch in April 2007 of the CDG VAL at Charles de Gaulle airport, built by Siemens and operated by Aerosat, an 85%-owned subsidiary of Keolis.

With 60 million passengers per year and 85,000 employees, Paris' busiest airport previously had a shuttle bus service calling at the main terminals and car parks, with the associated operational drawbacks.

CDG VAL is the shortest automatic metro in France. It runs with the same material, VAL 208, as that employed by Lille's automatic metro, also operated by Keolis.

With a maximum speed of 70 km/h, CDG VAL serves all of the airport's terminals in the space of eight minutes, compared to 25 for the shuttle bus. It has two independent lines: line 1 runs from Terminal 1 via the car parks to terminal 2. The second line, christened LISA, runs from terminal 2E to Terminal 2 S3 at the eastern extremity of the terminal.

The system is operated automatically and is ultra-reliable thanks to specially designed points which allow vehicles to continue to circulate even if one breaks down.

Finally, the service runs 24 hours a day and has a frequency of four minutes between 4.30 am and midnight and every 20 minutes from midnight to 4.30 am.

Key figures:

  • Track length: 3.3km for line 1; 600m for LISA.
  • Number of cars: 10 (7 on line 1 and 3 on LISA)
  • Daily ridership: 25,000 passengers