The CDGVAL project replaced the
SK6000 project, which was abandoned after unsuccessful test runs in 1999. CDGVAL was launched in 2000, with construction work beginning in 2003. Total cost is estimated at €145 million. Charles de Gaulle is Europe's largest airport with an area of 3500 hectares. The airport terminals are relatively far apart. Terminal 2 opened in 1982. At that time links between terminals, including the rail link at Roissypole and the long-stay car parks, were achieved by a shuttle system of buses which progressively became an increasing percentage of airport road congestion. It was not uncommon for the journey between terminals to take nearly half an hour during peak periods. This problem revealed the requirement for a rapid and modern transport solution for airport users.
Aéroports de Paris (ADP) planned to overhaul the transport system within the airport perimeter by introducing an internal train link. The VAL metro system project was launched and project specific infrastructure work commenced shortly afterwards. After the project was under way in 1992, use of the SK6000 train system built by French company Soulé was imposed on
ADP by the French government. Infrastructure had to be adapted and Line 1 was now due to open to the public on 1 May 1996. However, during testing the
automated rail transit system did not perform as hoped revealing several flaws in the system. Deemed unreliable and incapable of meeting availability targets, ADP were forced to consider alternatives despite the amount already invested which had attained nearly 150 million Euros of state funds. In June 1999 the project was abandoned so ADP had to invest urgently in order to renew its fleet of ageing coaches and maintain road service. SK Line 2, which was due to open during the summer of 1997, was still nowhere near completion after almost one billion Francs invested. A new project codenamed CDGVAL was undertaken in 2000. Building on the original project, CDGVAL largely followed the SK path while adapting existing infrastructure to allow transit of automatic metro-type equipment. Work began in 2003. Developed by
Siemens, this train system has already equipped the French cities of
Lille,
Toulouse and
Rennes, Italian city
Turin and formerly,
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (VAL256). The company has supplied and installed seven trains with two VAL 208 cars each, automation, the command centre, track-side facilities, electrical installations and cabling, station floors and landings and workshop equipment. The launch was initially forecast for autumn 2006, ten years after the scheduled opening for the SK6000 line, but the launch still underwent 6 further months delay. The first CDGVAL line opened to the public on 4 April 2007 after a full test run on 19 March 2007. The bus routes ran alongside the new tramway for the first ten days. A second CDGVAL line, having the project name LISA (
Liaison Interne Satellite Aérogare, English:
Internal Satellite Airport Link) was opened on 27 June 2007 between Terminal 2E and Satellite S3. It was further expanded to Satellite S4 on 18 June 2012, totalling in length for 3 stations. It is located within the security-controlled area of the airport and therefore accessible only to ticketed passengers and employees. ==Lines==