Paris Métro
The
Paris Métro is the
metro (underground) system in
Paris,
France. It was originally known as the "Chemin de Fer Métropolitain" ("Metropolitan railway"), then "Métropolitain," quickly abbreviated to "Métro". Speakers of
verlan call it "le tromé."
The system consists of 16 lines, identified by numbers from 1 to 14, with two minor lines 3b and 7b, numbered thus because they are branch lines split off from the original lines 3 and 7.
Brief technical points:
- over 200 km of track, over 300 stations
- circulation is on the right
- track gauge of 1.435 meters (standard gauge, like the French main lines) -- but trains are narrower than mainlines, so the Metro can run on mainlines but not vice versa
- power collection: third rail
- average distance between stations is approx 300 m
- lines 1, 4, 6, 11, and 14 are rubber-tired
- line 14 is driverless (fully automatic)
One single ticket price for any journey, unlimited connections, but limited to a 2-hour ride.
A second network of regional express lines, the RER (Réseau Express Régional) complements the network since the 1970s.
Existing lines
1: La Défense - Château de Vincennes
2: Porte Dauphine - Nation
3: Pont de Levallois-Bécon - Gallieni
3bis:
Gambetta - Porte des Lilas
4: Porte de Clignancourt - Porte d'
Orléans
5: Place d'Italie - Bobigny-
Pablo Picasso
- First section opened June 2, 1906 (some sections opened earlier are now part of line 6)
6:
Charles de Gaulle-Étoile - Nation
7: Villejuif-
Louis Aragon/Mairie d'Ivry - La Courneuve-8 Mai 1945
7bis: Louis Blanc - Pré-Saint-Gervais
8: Balard - Créteil-
Préfecture
9: Pont de
Sèvres - Mairie de Montreuil
10:
Boulogne-Pont de Saint-Cloud - Gare d'
Austerlitz
- First section opened July 13, 1913 (then part of line 8)
11: Châtelet - Mairie des Lilas
12: Mairie d'Issy - Porte de La Chapelle
13: Châtillon-Montrouge - Gabriel Péri-Asnières-Gennevilliers/Saint Denis-Université
14: Madeleine - Bibliothèque
François Mitterrand
An earlier line 14 Invalides-Porte de Vanves existed from
July 29,
1937, when it was detached from line 10, to
November 9,
1976, when it was incorporated into line 13.
See also: Stations of the Paris Metro
Architecture
One of the most famous aspects of the Paris metro are its wrought-iron art nouveau entrances by Hector Guimard, which have come to symbolize Paris although not very many remain in use (86 entrances by Guimard still exist).
History
Line 1 was inaugurated on July 19, 1900, after decades of political wrangling over routes and construction. Short sections of the present lines 2 and 6 (then numbered 5) were completed in the same year to serve the world's fair.
The lines 1 through 10 where built by the Ville de Paris (city of Paris) and run by the CMP (Compagnie du Chemin de Fer Métropolitain de Paris).
A second company, "Nord-Sud" (Société du Chemin de Fer Electrique Nord-Sud de Paris) started up in 1910 and built two lines named A and B (now part of lines 12 and 13). "Nord-Sud" merged in 1930 with the CMP (line 11 and the "first" line 14 were completed after the merger). CMP became state-owned in 1948 and renamed RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens).
See also
References
- 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)
External links