Diaphragm walls at 50 m and cage lifting: the crane line-up on Line 15 West
NGE Fondations is running Sennebogen crawler and duty cycle cranes across two Gennevilliers sites on the Grand Paris Express, splitting diaphragm wall construction and reinforcement cage handling between four machines.
The last contract on Line 15
The Grand Paris Express has been under construction since 2016 and is due for completion in the early 2030s. It comprises six fully automated metro lines, 68 stations and seven technical centres. Line 15 West will be the longest metro line in France, crossing 45 municipalities and four departments as an orbital route around the city centre.
NGE Fondations, working with general contractor Webuild and engineering services provider Equans France, holds the fourth and final government contract for the western section: €1.38 billion of work, scheduled for completion by the end of 2031, connecting Bécon-les-Bruyères with Saint-Denis – Pleyel via 7 km of tunnel and four new stations.
Les Caboeufs: shaft for the TBM
At Gennevilliers, the “Les Caboeufs” service tunnel forms the entrance shaft for a tunnel boring machine that will drive 7.5 km in two consecutive stages – first 1.2 km east towards Saint-Ouen, then a second run west towards Courbevoie and La Défense.
Diaphragm walls 1,200 mm thick are being built ahead of the drive. That work is done by a Sennebogen 6130 HD duty cycle crane carrying a STEIN diaphragm wall grab and a hydro cutter. Panels reach 50 m deep, with outer walls at 1,000 mm and the central partition wall at 1,200 mm; closure plates at each end shield against water ingress from the TBM.
Cage handling is separated out. A 125-tonne Sennebogen 3300 crawler crane supplied by FORCE-LOC lifts the reinforcement cages, working with a main and an auxiliary winch so the welded steel mesh is not distorted in the lift. The heavy-duty lifting falls to a 140-tonne 6140 HD duty cycle crane rigged with two 350 kN free-fall winches.
“The SENNEBOGEN cranes and duty cycle cranes proved to be very efficient both during lifting and foundation work. We will also be using the duty cycle cranes again at the next construction site at Les Agnettes station, using the 6130HD for heavy-duty lifting and the 6140HD for constructing the diaphragm walls. The diaphragm walls at this station will even be 1500 mm wide.”
— Ninos Salur, civil engineer, service building
Next: Les Grésillons and Les Agnettes
The second Gennevilliers project is the future Les Grésillons station, the first site the TBM will pass through as it advances west at a depth of 27 m. From the beginning of 2026 the 6140 HD moves on to Les Agnettes station with a 1,500 mm diaphragm wall grab. Once the walls at Les Caboeufs are finished, the site passes to the earthworks teams to excavate the box so the TBM can start from autumn 2026. NGE credits dealer SYGMAT for technical support and for rigging and derigging the machines.
Source: Sennebogen — Photos: Sennebogen