Line 11 extension: everything you need to know about the future viaduct

In just a few months, metro line 11 will be extended to Rosny-Bois-Perrier, with the opening of 6 new stations. Among them? The Côteaux-Beauclair aerial station, which will be built on a 600-metre viaduct. We tell you all about this future viaduct and aerial station.

At present, the Paris metro has 26 overhead stations. While these stations are popular with passengers, enabling them to admire the capital from a different perspective, RATP points out that the construction of the aerial metro is " linked to the difficulties of passing under the Seine, but also to the constraints of crossing the tracks of Paris stations ".

Of the 6 Paris metro lines with overhead stations (lines 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 13), only three are equipped with viaducts, the most emblematic of which are on lines 2 and 6. In the future, two additional viaduct-equipped lines will be added, namely lines 17 and 18 of the Grand Paris Express, as well as line 11, which is to be extended to Rosny-Bois-Perrier in Seine-Saint-Denis.

Line 11 of the metro: inauguration of the extension "early June" 2024
Line 11 of the Paris metro will be extended eastwards to Rosny-sous-Bois. The 6 new stations, including the new terminus in Seine-Saint-Denis, should welcome their first passengers "early June" 2024. [Read more]

The famous brown metro line will soon unveil a 600-meter-long viaduct with a minimum width of 8 meters. By way of comparison, the Passy viaduct on line 6 is 237 metres long.

In the middle of the viaduct is the famous Côteaux-Beauclair overhead station. Located on the border of the communes of Rosny-sous-Bois and Noisy-le-Sec, this station will serve the Domus shopping center, as well as the Parc des Guillaumes.

As RATP explains in a press release, the viaduct for the line 11 extension is being built " to overcome the difficult terrain between the plateau of Montreuil and the plain of Rosny ". In detail, this future viaduct will run alongside the Parc des Guillaumes, " ending its journey at the A3/A86 slip roads, where the extension route goes back underground ".

Designed by architects Marc Mimram, the viaduct is intended to be a " symbol of modernity ". By reinterpreting the architectural codes of early 20th-century metro viaducts, the line 11 viaduct will feature " a fluid, uncluttered and elegant design ", says the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens.

As for the Coteaux-Beauclair station, the platforms - built overhead with " glass walls forming a canopy over the platforms " - will reach a height of around 8 meters.

For the record, it will be possible to reach Coteaux-Beauclair station from Châtelet in just 23 minutes, compared with 55 minutes at present.