RESEAU TRAMWAYS PARIS - ILE DE FRANCE

Construction of four new tram lines (T5, T6, T7 and T8) to serve the municipalities of the first ring of suburbs around Paris and purchase of rolling stock.

The project is designed to improve the quality of public transport, encourage a switch to soft modes of transport and reduce the use of private cars.

The tram lines come under Annex II of Directive 85/337/EEC amended and have been subjected to an impact assessment under the Declaration of Public Utility procedure. They are also included in the Master Plan for the Île-de-France Region currently being approved and have been subjected to a strategic environmental assessment. The lines pass through urban areas and are unlikely to have significant impacts on Natura 2000 conservation sites. Line T6 includes a 1.6 km underground section under the forest of Meudon, which features on the French list of natural areas of ecological, fauna and flora interest but is not considered a Natura 2000 site. The construction of the tram line in a tunnel will minimise the impact on the forest. Given the project's virtuous objectives, and apart from certain temporary negative effects during the construction phase, the overall environmental impact can only be positive.

Tram lines in Île-de-France are currently operated by RATP under a concession contract signed with STIF. Most of the procurement has been carried out by RATP in its capacity as delegated contracting authority for the transport system using competitive tendering (notice in the Official Journal of the European Union). The procedures adopted comply with current regulations.