Major public transport projects in Toulouse: key dates
Close your eyes, imagine yourself eight or ten years from now. Perhaps you will have just settled in what will have become the third largest city in France, perhaps you will have left Toulouse for greener regions. The cable car, the extension of line B to the south, the third metro line between Colomiers and Labège and the LGV between Bordeaux and Toulouse will design the pink city of 2030. Between the health crisis which has paralyzed construction sites and which is still depriving companies of materials, and the multiple negotiations on financing, it is better to plan far ahead.
Téléo, the South cable car at the end of April 2022
The cable car, for once, it’s tomorrow in Toulouse. Its cabins are already flying above the Bellevue high school and the Pech David hill, still being tested. Téléo, which rests the Oncopole at Paul-Sabatier University via Rangueil Hospital, should be operational this spring, end of April according to our information.
Like all structuring projects, the Téléo construction site suffered numerous delays. Presented in 2016, it was initially hoped for in 2020. However, it is the only major project that will see the light of day in the short term. For the rest, it is necessary to project in five years, at least.
Extension of line B to Labège in 2027
This is the so-called “CLB” project, for line B connection. Claimed for a decade by the inhabitants and especially the employment area of Labège, what was called before the Innopole. Line B of the metro (Borderouge-Ramonville) will be extended by two additional stations, Canal Technological Park and INPT with an aerial metro. Work begins in the spring of this year.
Expected in 2026, Tisséo has announced a new deadline. According to the latest calculation, the two stations at Ramonville and Labège will open in September 2027. Ultimately, the idea is to connect this line B to the future third metro line in Labège. There will be a gap of at least 18 months between the commissioning of this new line B terminus at the Innopole, and that of the third metro line.
Third metro line by the end of 2028?
Code name TAE, for Toulouse Aerospace Express, which includes the Airport Express line project (see below) and that of the third metro line between Colomiers and Labège, 21 stations, 27 kilometers. More than five years after the first public debates, the route is finished, the public inquiry closed, in particular the very last legal stage, the environmental aspect. The extraordinary municipal council gave a favorable opinion on Tuesday, February 8, after a long and stormy session.
Preparatory work started last year. Civil engineering should come into action at the end of 2022, with the arrival of tunnel boring machines in 2023. This third line will allow, for example, to connect avenue Jean Rieux to the Ernest Wallon stadium, or even to go to the Halle de la Machine from the Barrière district of Paris or Matabiau. It will also give Airbusians the possibility of going to the aeronautical factories of Saint-Martin-du-Touch, to the sites of Colomiers, and to Defense and Space in Palays. Officially, this “TAE” will be a reality at the end of 2028. Several voices are raised, including that of Georges Méric, the president of the Departmental Council of Haute-Garonne, to question this calendar. Antoine Maurice, elected municipal EELV, shares this skepticism: “We will see what the inquiry commissioner says about the environmental aspect. The majority is also unable to give us the financial results of the project. We were told 2024, then 2028. I rather believe in 2030“, sums up the former municipal finalist.
The Airport Express line with the third line
The inhabitants of Toulouse are probably unaware that in a year, they will no longer be able to use the tram and a simple one-way ticket to get to Blagnac airport. Less well known to the general public than the major project for the third line and extension of line B, the Aéroport Express line aims to replace the T2 tramway with dedicated paying transport, like the Orlyval at Paris-Orly. It will connect with the future Jean Maga station near Ancely, with the third metro line towards Labège or Colomiers, and with the T1 tram towards the Palais de Justice.
Thus, by taking the third line and then this Airport Express, you can connect the Matabiau station to the airport in 22 minutes. Tisséo imagines this possible in 2030. In any case, the work will require the suspension of the airport service by the T2 tram from mid-2023.
Paris-Toulouse in three hours in 2030
It is undoubtedly the longest sea serpent in the greater South-West. But we can now say that he is well and truly on track. The high-speed line (LGV) between Bordeaux and Toulouse experienced a boost on February 7 with the saving extension of the Regional Council of New Aquitaine which allows to complete the financial round. The Council of State must examine this financing plan on February 15. The government will then have until March 31 to sign the order creating the local public finance company. It is she who will launch the calls for tenders.
Jean Castex had spoken of first works in 2024, the announced schedule should therefore be maintained. See now if it will be held over the years. The elected officials have agreed on 2030 to imagine Toulouse connecting to the capital in just over three hours, against 4:30 currently.