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Work on the Grand Paris Express under close surveillance by satellite
Work on the Grand Paris Express under close surveillance by satellite
With 200 additional kilometres of metro lines, 68 new stations, and 15 years of construction, the Grand Paris Express is a gigantic project. ALTAMIRA INFORMATION of the CLS Group, a subsidiary of CNES, ARDIAN and IFREMER, was commissioned by the Société du Grand Paris to monitor from space, to the nearest millimetre, the impact of the civil engineering operations along its track and the adjacent areas. This unprecedented satellite surveillance will cover 35 years, when historical studies are included.
This project is vital to the future of the Ile-de-France region. It will help decongest the existing transport systems, reduce traffic and road vehicle pollution, combat urban sprawl and the progressive disappearance of agricultural land and more generally facilitate economic development in the region.
By 2030, it will lead to :
- 200 additional kilometres of automated metro lines;
- 68 new stations that will link the transport hubs of Grand Paris, the three airports and the TGV (high-speed train) stations;
- 2 million new passengers being carried on a daily basis;
- and significantly shorter commuting times.
Given this background, the Société du Grand Paris decided to use all possible means to put this extended construction site under close surveillance, from the beginning of the study phase.
“When we launched this project, one of our main priorities was to minimize the impact by placing it under close surveillance. We therefore chose two complementary solutions. A real-time solution with a system using ground instruments to monitor any movements of buildings along the track of each tunnelling machine and a satellite-based solution, which will cover a larger perimeter, to be provided by ALTAMIRA INFORMATION. This second mode of surveillance enables us to monitor from space, the slightest movement of the ground over a zone of 1000 m centered on the tunneling route, down to the nearest millimetre. We felt that these two complementary systems, in situ and from space, would be the most effective solution for keeping the project under close surveillance.
For the space-based part, which is a considerable innovation in worksite surveillance, we have chosen ALTAMIRA INFORMATION, a leading company in this highly specialised area, which has been very attentive to our needs and which offered the best technical solution”, explains Vincente Fluteaux, Infrastructures Engineer with the Société du Grand Paris.
