Toulouse Metro Line B: GCF at Work

Full-speed construction for the new extension

Works are progressing at full pace in France on the extension of Line B of the Toulouse Metro, a project in which GCF – Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie S.p.A. is involved as a subcontractor to Siemens Mobility for the construction of the guideway system..

The detailed design phase, launched in January 2024, provides for the extension of Line B (VAL rubber-tyred system) from Ramonville station for 2.7 km eastwards. The new section includes an initial underground tunnel and, after crossing the Canal du Midi, a second stretch on a viaduct connecting the two new elevated stations of Parc Technologique du Canal (PTC) and Institut Polytechnique ligne B (IPB). The project also includes the construction of a “connection section” behind Ramonville station, ensuring the link between the existing line and the extension; a further connection section on Track 1 behind PTC station, with a single bidirectional track between PTC and Innopole; and a stabling area located between Parc Technologique du Canal and Institut Polytechnique Line B.

GCF is specifically responsible for the construction of the guideway, consisting of running surfaces and lateral guidance bars (3,230 metres of single track on viaduct and 1,020 metres of single track for the underground connection to the existing line), the construction of three turnouts, as well as the supply and installation of evacuation walkways positioned alongside each track.

Following approximately three months dedicated to site set-up, works began at the start of May last year and have been progressing at full speed ever since.

“In eight months,” explain GCF site management, “80% of the reinforced concrete guideway slab has been completed, together with the installation of the guideway profiles. Progress exceeding 40% has also been achieved in aluminothermic welding operations. Current activities focus on fastening the guideway components and carrying out final geometric checks – now 25% complete – as well as on installing the evacuation walkways, also approximately 25% completed.”
Project completion is scheduled for August 2026..

The Toulouse Metro

Inaugurated in 1993, the Toulouse Metro is a VAL system (Véhicule Automatique Léger), a rubber-tyred automated system developed in 1983 for the city of Lille by Matra, later acquired by Siemens.
The VAL system uses bogies equipped with load-bearing rubber tyres that run on steel running surfaces, unlike conventional railway wheels, as well as smaller wheels running on smooth vertical supports (the so-called lateral guidance bars), preventing derailment. These same guidance bars, mounted on vertical insulators, also provide electrical power supply to the rolling stock.
The system was first adopted in Italy for the Turin Metro, where GCF carried out the trackwork for the 3.7 km double-track extension from Porta Nuova station to Lingotto Fiere, inaugurated in 2011.

The Toulouse metro network currently extends over 28.2 km and consists of two separate, mostly underground lines serving 38 stations: Line A, running southwest–northeast, inaugurated in 1993 and including four viaduct sections and two elevated stations; and Line B, fully underground with a north–south alignment, inaugurated in 2007.
The new section of Line B is expected to serve 14,000 passengers per day.

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