With the Olympics and Paralympics taking over Paris last summer, you might have missed the news of an extension to Paris’s metro network. The expansion of Line 14 was hardly the summer’s most glamorous story, but it did improve north-south connections in the city and helped locals and visitors reach Olympic venues.
The extension added approximately 15 kilometres of track as well as one station on the northern end and seven new stations on the southern end, with the line terminating at Orly Airport, making it the longest metro route in the city.
However, the new Villejuif-Gustave-Roussy station has remained closed due to additional construction work – until now. The Grand Paris Express authority has announced the huge new station will open to the public on January 18. Here’s everything we know so far.
What’s the new station like?
Passengers will soon discover a maze-like station that, in addition to Line 14, will also serve as a stop for the future Line 15, which is slated to open in summer 2026. Designed by the Dominique Perrault architecture firm – known for projects like the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in the 13th arrondissement – the station features an accessible design for individuals with reduced mobility and is topped with a large, rounded, striated glass roof.
Inside, passengers will find a whopping 32 escalators and 16 lifts which connect the station’s nine levels. The deepest level, nearly 50 metres underground, provides access to the platforms. On the ceiling of this top floor, passengers will find an artwork by Chilean artist Iván Navarro, consisting of 58 illuminated panels named after celestial bodies. Fancy.
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