Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and Nokia on board for Grand Paris rail project

Leading technology firms Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE) and Nokia are coming together to power the Grand Paris Express, one of Europe’s largest metro rail projects, for which they have combined their complementary offers to provide certified and integrated end-to-end mission-critical infrastructure.

The Grand Paris Express is seen as enabling a key role as the French economy looks for drivers of the sustainable and virtuous growth needed to face the challenges of the 21st century, in particular driving ecological transition. The new metro is designed to change the face of the Île-de-France region, and Société du Grand Paris is the driving force behind the public transport scheme project, which is said to give planners a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redesign and reshape the city to make it more inclusive and environmentally friendly.

For the two million daily travellers in the Grand Paris area, the new communications system promises superior levels of service, with intuitive ticketing and enhanced digital services such as greater connectivity.

Configured as a small ring and a large ring, the four new metro lines, plus the extension of an existing line, are designed to shorten the daily commutes of close to three million people. The Grand Paris Express will serve the main business districts – La Défense, La Plaine Saint-Denis; the major hubs of science and higher learning – Paris-Saclay, Institut Gustave-Roussy, La Cité Descartes; three key regional airports – Charles de Gaulle, Orly, Le Bourget; and three high-speed train stations – Massy-Palaiseau, Versailles-Chantiers and Charles de Gaulle. In all, 130 universities and higher learning institutions, 408 healthcare centres and 656 cultural venues will be within a 10-minute walk of the future stations.

The future subway includes 200km of new rail that will create the additional services. In addition, 68 new subway stations will be built, helping to create sustainable urban centres in these locations.

The solutions developed by ALE and Nokia are designed to meet all the operation and maintenance requirements of the Grand Paris Express, such as a multi-service IP/MPLS high-speed backbone network, which includes the router portfolio.

ALE and Nokia believe communication between the centralised control centre and the automated stations, lines and depots, which are closely monitored, is key to daily operations and maintenance, and is an important component in the project’s cyber security strategy.

The ruggedised LAN OmniSwitch range by Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise is being deployed in stations and in remote industrial environments to make the management of video surveillance and air quality control via internet of things (IoT) sensors possible. It is intended to increase efficiency, enhance safety and improve the passenger experience by providing operational data in real time.

Both companies have an ongoing deployment in the project planned until 2035, as well as several other projects that will serve transportation customers around the world in years to come.

“We are very proud to partner with Nokia to deliver state-of-the-art digital transformation for the Grand Paris Express smart mobility project,” commented Rukmini Glanard, chief business officer at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. “Together we will provide a certified mission-critical network, supporting carbon-free transportation. ALE is fully compliant with and committed to sustainable development regulations as defined by the UN Global Compact. This project is a perfect example of our Technology for Good strategy.”

Nathan Stenson, Nokia vice-president for the global partner channel, added: “We are thrilled to strengthen the relationship with our technology and go-to-market distribution partner Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, providing mission-critical end-to-end network architecture based on Nokia leading-edge IP/MPLS technology. This state-of-the-art technology enables a powerful multi-service IoT network that provides air quality and video monitoring in stations with 13,000 cameras and artificial intelligence to enhance safety and security throughout the Grand Paris Express.”