& metro network mapped to a geographically accurate scale.]]
The is the underground
Rapid Transit system in
Paris ,
France . It's been doubled later by an additional express network known as the
RER to reach further suburbs.
The system comprises 16 lines, identified by numbers from 1 to 14, with two minor lines, 3bis and 7bis, numbered thus because they used to be branches of their respective original lines and became only later independent. The company which originally managed the network was known as ''Chemin de Fer Métropolitain de Paris'' (Paris Metropolitan Railway) or C.M.P, shortened as "Métropolitain". Already in its first years, that name has been quickly abbreviated as ''Métro''.
The development of the network took place during three main stages. Firstly between the 1900's and 1920's has been developped the core of the metro network exclusively inside Paris proper. Then from the 1930's to the 1950's the network has been extended in the near suburbs and densified with the creation of line 11. And finally, from the 1960's to the 1980's, most extension focused on the developpment of the RER network. At the end of the 1990's, the fully automatic line 14 has been created.
- The métro network has 221.6 km (133.7 miles) of track, 380 stops (87 offering connection between lines). These figures do not include the RER network.
- In 2004, the annual traffic on Paris metro lines totaled 1.336 billion passengers.
- Average speed is 35 km/h, up to 60 km/h for some segments.
- Circulation is on the right.
- Each line has its dedicated stations, even at transfer stations (i.e., lines do not share platforms)
- All trains stop at all stations (though some stations are closed at certain times or days of the week).
- Track gauge of 1.435 meters ( Standard Gauge , like the French main lines) — but trains are narrower than on the main line, so the Metro could run on main lines but not vice versa.
- Power collection: Third Rail , 750 V DC, except on the Rubber-tired Metro routes where the 750 V DC power is collected from the guide bars.
- average distance between stations is approximately 562 m (1845 feet)
- lines 1, 4, 6, 11, and 14 are Rubber-tired
- Line 14 is driverless (fully automatic)
- train length varies from line to line: three to six cars, depending on passenger volume. All trains on a given line always have the same number of cars
- the maximum speed for all segments is 70 km/h (80 km/h on line 14), due to the undeground restrictions
- the earliest lines (the ones that were dug out by hand) follow the roads above them. For instance, Line 1 follows the Champs Élysées in a perfectly straight line. This was due to the fact, because of poor construction techniques the construction had to follow the roads, otherwise the workers would encounter cellars. This also explains why some stations (Commerce on line 8 and Liège on line 13) have platforms that do not face; the street above is too narrow.
One single ticket is good for any journey and unlimited connections within two hours, barring exit. Trains run from approximately 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day of the year.
By the end of the 19th century, the Paris authorities were quickly convinced by the necessity to build an underground rail network in order to solve the massive problems of traffic congestion in the very densely inhabitated city. However, those authorities were hesitating between two solutions. The first one was about extending already existing suburban lines to a newly built underground network, a solution similar to the one chosen by London authorities. The second one was about building a brand new and fully independant network which wouldn't be connected whatsoever with existing lines. After long years of hesitation, the second option has finally been chosen.
On the April 20th 1896, the Paris authorities have finally adopted
Fulgence Bienvenüe network project, which was serving strictly the city proper of Paris. Many Parisian citizens were indeed scared that a network which would be extended in the industrial suburbs would reduce the safety of the city. As such, the Paris authorities decided to forbid any development of the network to the inner suburbs. As a guarantee that such development wouldn't occure, it's been decided to make run metro trains on the right side, at the opposite of existing suburban lines which run on the left side.
On the July 19th of 1900, the first line of the network, known as ''Maillot-Vincennes'' as the names of its terminus, was inaugurated in the frame of the
Paris World's Fair . The entrances to the stations were conceived in the ''
Art Nouveau '' style by the architect
Hector Guimard .
Fulgence Bienvenüe's project was consisting into ten lines, which correspond to today's lines 1 to 9. The pace of construction has been so intense that in 1920, despite few changes from the original schedule, most of the forecasted lines were already built. Lines
1 and
4 were conceived respectively as central horizontal and central vertical lines. Two circular lines, known as ''ligne 2 Nord'' (line 2 North) and ''ligne 2 Sud'' (line 2 South) were originally planned, however, it's been finally decided in 1906 to merge the line 2 South with the
Line 5 . The
Line 3 was an additional horizontal line at the North of line 1 and the line 5 an additional vertical line at the east of the line 4. The
Line 6 was then strictly serving from
Nation to
Place D'Italie . Lines
7 ,
8 and
9 were connecting commercial and office districts around the
Opéra to more residential areas in the North East and the South West.
An additional circular line, known as ''ligne circulaire interieur'' (inner circular line) was also planned by Bienvenüe in order to connect circularly the 6 main train stations of the city. The first portion of that line has been inaugurated in 1923 between
Invalides and the Boulevard Saint-Germain before being finally abandonned.
On the 31st january of 1904, a second convention is attributed to another company known as ''Société du chemin de fer électrique souterrain Nord-Sud de Paris'' (Paris North-South underground electrical railway company). It will finally be quickly abbreviated as the ''Nord-Sud'' (North-South) company.
The construction of three lines is attributed to that company. The line A would join Montmartre to Montparnasse as an additional vertical line at the west of line 4, the line B would serve strictly the North West of Paris in connecting Saint-Lazare train station to Porte de Clichy and Porte de Saint-Ouen, and the line C would serve strictly the South West in connecting Montparnasse train station to Porte de Vanves.
The line A is finally inaugurated on the November 4th of 1910, after being postponed because of the flood Paris has experienced in january of that year. The line B is inaugurated on the February 26th of 1911. Because of the expensive costs of the construction, the construction of line C is postponed. The Nord-Sud company and the C.M.P company will use compatible trains which could be used on both networks, however, the Nord-Sud network will distinguish itself from its competitor with a decoration of its stations of a very high quality.
Unfortunately, despite all efforts the Nord-Sud company didn't manage to become profitable and bankrupcy becomes unavoidable. By the end of 1930, the C.M.P buys the Nord-Sud company. The line A of that network becomes the
Line 12 and the line B becomes the
Line 13 . The line C has never been built.
During the 20's, Fulgence Bienvenüe's project is nearly fully built. As a consequence, the Paris authorities establishes then a new project of development of the network. In that frame, three new lines are planned and extensions of most lines to the inner suburbs is finally decided despite the reluctance of Parisians.
As the inner circular line planned by Bienvenüe has been abandonned, it's been finally decided to use the already built portion between Duroc and Odéon for the creation of a new North-East line which will become today's
Line 10 . The line 10 will be extended westbound to Porte de Saint-Cloud and the inner suburbs of Boulogne.
The line C planned by the Nord-Sud company between Montparnasse and Porte de Vanves will finally be built as the line 14, and will be extended northbound in encompassing the already built portion between Invalides and Duroc which was initially planned as part of the inner circular line.
Because the funicular of Belleville, which is actually a
Cable Car , is saturated, it's been also decided to replace it by a new metro line, the
Line 11 , which will also be extended to Châtelet. Lines 10, 11 and 14 are thus the three new lines planned by this project.
In the projects, most existing lines are planned to be extended to the inner suburbs. The first line to leave the city proper will be the line 9 extended in 1934 to Boulogne-Billancourt, many more will follow it in the 1930's. Unfortunately, and
Vincennes , line 3 to
Levallois-Perret , line 5 to
Pantin , line 7 to
Ivry , line 8 to
Charenton , line 9 to
Boulogne-Billancourt , line 11 to
Les Lilas and line 12 to
Issy-les-Moulineaux .
World War 2 will have a massive impact on the Paris métro. During the German occupation, metro services are limited and many stations are closed. Because of the bombings risk, it's been decided that the service between
Place D'Italie and
Etoile will be transferred from the line 5 to the line 6 so that most of the elevated portions of the Paris metro are on a single line : the line 6. As a result, lines 2 and 6 form now together a metro circle.
After the liberation by the US forces in 1944, the network will need a long time to fully recover. Still in the 1960's, many stations have not yet reopened and some will finally be fully closed, they will be later known as the ''stations fantômes'' (the Ghost stations). The March 23rd 1948, French authorities creates a new company by the merger of the C.M.P (managing the subway) and the STCRP (managing bus and tramways). That company will be known as the
RATP and is still today the operator of the metro network.
During the 1950's, extensions of the network are stopped. The RATP's efforts are concentrated in the modernization of the network which became very outdated after 50 years of existence. The former Sprague trains are replaced by new MF-59 trains, some which are still used today on certain lines.
From 1950 to 1980, the population of the Paris agglomeration is booming. Automotiles become more and more popular and suburbs are getting further and further from the city proper, which still keeps its 19th century boundaries. Paris main train stations, which are the terminus of suburban rail lines, are totally overcrowded during the rush hours. The problem is that it's very difficult to extend existing metro lines far in the suburbs because the distance separating stations in the center is very short, on average less than 500 meters. As a consequence, any extension too far from the center wouldn't be competitive as it would be a way too slow service.
In the 1960's, it's been then decided to finally create the project abandonned at the end of the 19th century which was consisting in joining suburban lines to brand new underground portions in the city center. That project of a regional metro system will be known as the ''réseau express régional'' (regional express network), which will become well-known as the
RER .
The project of the RER plans initially a new East-West lines and two North-South lines. The RATP company buys cheaply from the
SNCF the unprofitable ligne de St-Germain westbound and the ligne de Vincennes eastbound with as purpose to join them and to serve multiple districts of central Paris with bran new underground stations. The new line being created by this merger will become the
RER A . The ligne de Sceaux, which is serving the Southern suburbs and has been bought by the CMP in the 1930's, will be extended Northbound to reach the brand new
Charles De Gaulle Airport . This line will become the
RER B . Those new lines will be inaugurated in 1977 and the success will outperform all the most optimistic forecasts as such a scale that, today, the RER A is the most used urban rail line in the world with nearly 300 million journeys a year.
Because of the expensive costs of the creation of those two lines, the third line is abandonned and the French authorities decide that later developments of the RER network will be more cheaply developped by the
SNCF company, managing other suburban lines. However, the RER developped by the SNCF company will never reach the same quality and success that the RER developped by the RATP. In 1979, The SNCF will develop the
RER C in joining the suburban lines of
Gare D'Austerlitz and
Gare D'Orsay , the former one becoming then a museum dedicated to impressionist paintings. During the 1980's, it will also develop the
RER D , which was the second line planned by the initial RER schedule but which will serve
Châtelet instead of
République to reduce costs.
In the same project of the 1960's is decided to merge lines 13 and 14 to create a quick connections between Saint-Lazare and Montparnasse thanks to a new full North-South line. Distances between stations on that enlarged line 13 is significantly smaller than on other lines in order to make it more express and hence to extend it further in the suburbs. It will be inaugurated the November 9th 1976.
We will have to wait the October 15th of 1998 and the inauguration of the new
Line 14 to see a new metro line being created in Paris. That project, which was known during its conception as Météor, is the first fully automatic line of the network. It has been conceived with in mind to extend it further in the suburbs, similarly as the extensions of the line 13 during the 1970's. As a result, each stations are on average separated of one another by 1 kilometer. Just like the RER lines designed by the RATP, nearly all stations of line 14 located in the city proper offers connections with multiple metro lines. The line is currently joining
Bibliothèque to
Saint-Lazare , but its been planned that it will serve later the Northwestern branch of the line 13 and the Southern branch of line 7, both branches being extended deeper in the suburbs.
Finally, one year later in 1999 has been inaugurated the
RER E , known during its conception as Eole, which is the fifth RER line serving Paris. Currently, the RER E is ending at
Haussmann - Saint-Lazare , but a new project, financed by the public authority managine
La Défense business district (the EPAD), should extend the line westbound thanks to a new direct tunnel reaching
La Défense - Grande Arche and reaching later further suburbs.
One of the most famous aspects of the Paris metro is its wrought-iron
Art Nouveau entrances by
Hector Guimard , which have come to symbolize Paris. 86 entrances by Guimard still exist.
- Bindi, A. & Lefeuvre, D. (1990). ''Le Métro de Paris: Histoire d'hier à demain,'' Rennes: Ouest-France. ISBN 2737302048. (''French'')
- Gaillard, M. (1991). ''Du Madeleine-Bastille à Météor: Histoire des transports Parisiens,'' Amiens: Martelle. ISBN 2878900138. (''French'')
- Hovey, Tamara. ''Paris Underground,'' New York: Orchard Books, 1991. ISBN 0531059316
