Ever suffered the misery of a delayed RER B train to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport or even suffered from trains being suspended for a whole day, as happened to thousands of air passengers recently?
Ever been stuck in a tunnel during a heatwave, wondering if you'll catch your flight at all?
Ever had friends call you in panic because the RER signs at the airport is too confusing to ever make it into the city by train?
(AFP)
Well worry no longer – the upcoming Charles De Gaulle Express is “on track” to save the day (but you're going to have to wait a while for it).
Yes, as of Tuesday there are no more obstacles in the way for the new line after France's National Assembly and Senate gave the green light to plans.
Work on the line will be carried out by a subsidiary owned by rail operators SNCF and Aeroports de Paris, and will cost an estimated €1.69 billion.
The new line is considered to be a major asset in helping Paris win its bid to host the Olympic Games in 2024.
The line is planned to run from Gare de L'Est, the younger brother of the nearby Gare du Nord station that currently connects the airport to the city.
The map below from Le Parisien newspaper shows the route of the planned link.
Once complete in 2023, the CDG Express will speed travellers non-stop along the 32 kilometres (20 miles) between Gare de l'Est railway station and the airport in just 20 minutes.
That is twice as fast as the existing suburban train that stops along the way, and which is often overcrowded and regularly hit by by technical problems and strikes, which to be fair we can cannot guarantee won't blight the new express line when it finally opens.
A one-way express ticket is projected to cost €24 ($33), compared with less than €10 for the suburban train.
There have been calls to offer cheap monthly passes on the line for airport staff, although no details have been finalized as yet.
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