Orlyval is a

light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS trains are usually 1 to 4 cars. Most medi ...

shuttle service at Paris's

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

using the

Véhicule Automatique Léger ''Véhicule Automatique Léger'' () or VAL is a type of driverless (automated), rubber-tyred, medium-capacity rail transport system (people mover). The technology was developed at the Lille University of Science and Technology, was marketed b ...

(VAL, English: ''automatic light vehicle)'' driverless, rubber-tyred

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small-scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks ...

technology. The line, which opened on 2 October 1991, offers free service between the two airport terminal stations, and premium fare service to Antony station, where passengers can connect to the city's

RER B RER B is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its Île-de-France suburbs. The RER B line crosses the region from no ...

trains. Orlyval is the second line to use the VAL technology after the Lille Metro and the first airport people mover system to use VAL. The line was financed and initially operated by private companies including

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

, the company that developed the VAL technology, along with several international developers. The line was a commercial failure and the operators went bankrupt.

RATP Group The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (Établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial, EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under th ...

, the transportation operator for the Paris region, took over the line in 1992. Following the extension of Paris Metro line 14 to Orly Airport in June 2024, the future of the line is currently being considered by

Île-de-France Mobilités Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) is the governmental authority ( EPA) that controls and coordinates the different companies operating the Paris-area public transport network and the rest of the Île-de-France region. In this capacity, it issu ...

History

Orly Airport is the primary airport for domestic flights between Paris and other cities in France. During the 1980s, the only transportation options to the airport were by road. Bus routes to the airport were often crowded and traffic jams were frequent. Several projects were suggested: an extension of Paris Métro Line 7, an additional branch of the

, and an extension of the RER C. Ultimately, in December 1987, authorities opted for the construction of a shuttle line from the airport to Antony station on the RER B line using the

(VAL) technology developed by

for the Lille Metro which opened in 1983. The project was seen (and criticized) as a showcase project for Matra who was hoping to sell VAL systems to cities across the world. The government of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

was skeptical about financing the shuttle line and instead offered up a concession: the right for a private company to operate the shuttle line on the airport grounds. A consortium was formed to build the line, consisting of the domestic airline

Air Inter Air Inter () (legally ''Lignes Aériennes Intérieures'') was a semi-public French domestic airline in France that operated from 1954 until it merged with Air France in 1997. It was last headquartered in Paray-Vieille-Poste, Essonne.''World Ai ...

(26.7% share), builder Lyonnaise des Eaux-Dumez (18% share), VAL manufacturer Matra (17.3% share), and public transport operator RATP (3.3% share). The other 34.7% of the consortium was owned by several banks including

Caisse des Dépôts Caisse, a French word, may refer to: * Caisse Desjardins, an association of credit unions in Quebec * Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, a road-bicycle racing team * Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a public pension fund in Quebec * Caisse ...

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cen ...

, and Indosuez. With daily ridership forecasted at over 14,000 passengers, the banks helped the group secure loans worth 1.55 billion

french franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

s (about €21.65 million). The Orlyval opened on 2 October 1991, about three months ahead of schedule. Almost immediately, ridership was lower than expected. Blame was placed on the premium fare, 55 francs (about €8), and the transfer between VAL and RER trains at Antony station. Daily ridership was around 4,500, only a third of the predicted traffic. After a few months of operation, fares were reduced, but ridership remained low. In the first full year of operation, the line only served 1.2 million travelers, instead of the 4.3 million initially forecasted. In December 1992, the line was put into compulsory liquidation. Operation of the line was taken over by RATP, who would receive an operating subsidy of ten million francs per year until the end of 2021, paid by the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

region. The settlement also included the requirement that until the end of 2021, a portion of each fare should go to repaying creditors, expected to return about 67% of their original investment. Because of this agreement, fares on the line remained higher than other forms of transportation in the region. As of the end of 2016, the line generated about 10.5 million euros in fares per year. Ridership increased after the RATP took over operation of the line. The RATP carried out a study of riders in early 1994 and learned the clientele mostly consisted of businessmen traveling between the city and the airport for professional reasons. As a result of the study, in June 1994, RATP increased operating hours of the Orlyval to enable connections to the first and last domestic flights. Since the 2000s, traffic has experienced an annual increase of 8 to 10%. Ridership for the year 2013 amounted to 3.1 million trips. In June 2024, Paris Metro line 14 was extended to Orly Airport with the opening of Aéroport d'Orly station, shortly before the start of the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

and

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

. This offered a faster and cheaper route to central Paris without needing to change trains. By October 2024, ridership on Orlyval and Orlybus had fallen by around 70%.

Future

Following the extension of line 14 to Orly Airport, Orlyval faces an uncertain future. By 2028, Paris Metro Line 18 is scheduled to link the airport with the RER B and C lines at . ,

is considering options on the future of the line. The first option would be the modernisation of the line with three additional stations built to serve the local community (around €290 million) – this is being lobbied for by the towns of Antony and Wissous as well as the

Paris-Saclay Paris-Saclay is a research-intensive and business cluster currently under construction in the south of Paris, France. It encompasses research facilities, two French major universities with higher education institutions (''grandes écoles'') and ...

community. The second option would be the dismantling of the line (around €150 million), with possible reuse of the right of way as a cycle path or bus lane.

Groupe ADP Groupe ADP, formerly Aéroports de Paris or ADP (''Paris Airports''), is an international airport operator based in Paris (France). Groupe ADP owns and manages Parisian international airports Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly Airport and Le Bourget ...

– the operator of Orly Airport – desires that the line be converted to a "internal shuttle" to transfer people between Orly 1, 2, 3 and Orly 4.

Fares and ticketing

Travel between the airport's terminals is free of charge. Passengers travelling to or from Antony station must pay, and

exit fare An exit fare is a method of collecting ridership fees, or fares, from a transportation system, where the fee (or part of the fee) is collected from passengers upon reaching their destination. Examples Exit fares were used on the subway lines ...

gates are in place at Antony for passengers coming from the airport. The one-way fare for the six-minute ride from Orly to Antony or vice-versa is €11 as of March 2023; this is not affected by the fare cap of €5 on RER tickets announced in March 2022. Children aged 4 to 10 pay half fare and babies aged 3 and under are free. Combined tickets valid onwards to a RER station are available with fares depending on the distance travelled. The only other ticket valid for the route is the Paris Visite 1 to 5 day pass; Mobilis day tickets and Navigo season tickets are not valid.

Orlyval stations

References

External links