Paris transit operator RATP confirmed on 18 July 2026 that the RER C branch linking Gare d’Austerlitz with Pont-de-Rungis – Aéroport d’Orly will shut nightly from 22:20 through 31 July. The closure is part of an accelerated works programme to prepare the line for future interchange with the Grand Paris Express metro network and to replace ageing track inside the Seine-Left-Bank tunnel. During the outage, replacement buses will run every 15 minutes between Pont-de-Rungis and Paris, adding 25-30 minutes to typical journey times. Late-evening flight arrivals at Orly should therefore budget at least one hour for landside transfer into the city centre, and travellers with tight onward rail or coach connections may prefer licensed airport taxis or app-based ride-shares. The RER C works coincide with capacity restrictions at Orly Airport itself, compounding the risk of missed connections. Airlines have been asked to announce the rail disruption during in-flight briefings and to provide up-to-date transfer information at gates. For mobility managers, the key issue is employee fatigue. Staff landing after trans-Atlantic services frequently rely on the RER C to reach corporate apartments in the 13ᵉ and 5ᵉ arrondissements. Companies should consider pre-booking chauffeured cars for arrivals after 21:00 or authorising hotel over-nights near the airport to mitigate duty-of-care risks. RATP says the modernised infrastructure will shave three minutes off journey times and improve punctuality once works finish, but warns further weekend-long closures are planned in August. Travellers can subscribe to push alerts via the Bonjour RATP app for live service updates.
Source: RATP Traffic Information – RER C
