Roissy/Charles de Gaulle Airport VAL. Photo by François Lapadu-Hargues, December 2007.

Overview

The two main airports of Paris are Roissy/Charles De Gaulle (CDG), 15 miles to the north-east, and Orly (ORY), 10 miles on the south. Roissy/CDG started as a European "domestic" aiport, and now handles long distance intercontinental flights (541,566 landings and take-offs in 2006). Orly is mainly devoted to domestic, Europe, French overseas territories, North Africa, Middle East, and French Canada flights (229,335 operations in 2006). Roissy and Orly are linked to Paris by the RER, regional express rail network (RER line B). Two stations serve CDG directly, while Orly has a connection from Antony station on the RER to Orly via the "OrlyVal" automatic shuttle.

The OrlyVal system was opened in October 1991. It is equipped with two-car trains built by Matra (now owned by Siemens), running between Orly West and Orly South terminal (about half a mile), and from Orly West to Antony station on the (RER B), about 5 miles. OrlyVal was initially operated by a separate company but the operations were later transferred to Paris' public transit company, RATP. The service is free between Orly West and Orly South terminals, but to get to the RER B connection at Antony, the price of the ticket is generally considered as very expensive since it is not supported by the regional authorities (such is the case for the rest of public transport in the Ile de France). The OrlyVAL service runs from 6 AM to 11 PM.

The Charles De Gaulle VAL shuttle (RoissyVal) links CDG Terminal 1, CDG Terminal 3, the RER train station to Paris, the national railways TGV train station, and two car park facilities. It is operated with Siemens VAL 208 two-body cars. The service is free and runs 24 hours, 7 days a week. It was opened in April 2007.

Photo Gallery

Five Random Images
Image 81350 (151k, 800x600) Photo by: Marion Roche	Image 81351 (164k, 600x800) Photo by: Marion Roche	Image 81355 (172k, 800x600) Photo by: Marion Roche	Image 81363 (180k, 800x600) Photo by: François Lapadu-Hargues	Image 81369 (193k, 800x600) Photo by: François Lapadu-Hargues