200 kilometers of rail network, 68 new underground stations, and four additional subway lines – "Le Grand Paris Express" is one of the largest infrastructure projects currently being implemented in Europe.
By 2030, the large-scale expansion of the public transport network around the French capital is to be completed, taking the development opportunities of the metropolitan region to a new level. Since 2016, numerous construction companies have been working on its realization.
Among them is the globally active company Eiffage. The French construction group is responsible, among other things, for a construction section of the new Line 16. In doing so, it deliberately relies on know-how and products from fischer.
“Le Grand Paris Express” is intended to become the backbone for the development of the entire capital region by serving municipalities, economic players, and the local population, offering an unprecedented potential for innovation:
The four new Metro lines circle the capital city and provide connections to the three Paris airports, business districts, and research facilities. They thus connect around 165,000 companies to public transportation and transport more than two million commuters daily. According to the planning office, “Le Grand Paris Express” is expected to create new mobility patterns, facilitate traffic between suburbs, and better network the regions around Paris with the capital.
To create spaces no longer dedicated solely to through traffic, the function of the stations has been completely rethought. As a result, the centrally located Metro stations will in the future be used not only by commuters to get on and off but also by residents for shopping, living, and working.
In addition to the tunnel construction for line 16, the French construction company Eiffage is entrusted with the construction of 26 related structures and five stations.
The circular station "Gare du Bourget" is considered one of the future hubs of "Le Grand Paris Express."
With a diameter of around 64 meters and a depth of about 30 meters, it lies in the middle of a triangle bordered by two rail tracks and a national road.
These conditions place extremely high demands on planning and implementation, as well as on the equipment and devices used. It is also for this reason that Eiffage relies on fischer in the field of fastening technology.
Above all, the fischer injection mortar FIS EM Plus ensures safe and rapid progress at Eiffage construction sites. "FIS EM Plus is a real problem solver for us," says Massir El Alama, project manager at Eiffage.
"Another advantage is that we can store the mortar more easily. We don’t need a separate heated room or container. The epoxy resin mortar just must not freeze."
And for the walkways and scaffolding of the rail slabs in the tunnel, fischer is also a competent and reliable partner. Because with FBS II 14 and FBS II 8, the fischer technical department is able to solve all load cases with only two products and thus reduce the number of products to be used for Eiffage.
This has drastically reduced the risk of application errors on the construction site for us.
Quality has always been a top priority at fischer and is reflected in the extraordinary service life of every fischer product.
In the construction sector, the Eurocode standards for standard structures assume an expected service life of 50 years, which is why all design methods are generally based on these 50 years.
However, the project „Le Grand Paris Express“ has even higher requirements. For important and large infrastructure projects such as subway tunnels, viaducts, nuclear power plants, etc., a guaranteed service life of 100 years is required. All structures must be aligned with this requirement. And the products used must also meet the expected service life of 100 years.
In the case of chemical anchoring with the injection mortar FIS EM Plus, fischer specifically applied for a European Technical Assessment (ETA – European Technical Assessment) to provide the product performance proof required for Europe.
As a strong partner for large-scale projects like "Le Grand Paris Express," fischer understands its responsibility towards clients and customers.
The quality of the products, competitive prices, and high product availability play a central role, but they are by no means everything that matters for successful collaboration.
Through regular presence on construction sites and the fast and precise responsiveness of fischer's technical department, tailored solutions can be developed that optimally meet the individual requirements and circumstances of a project.
