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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 3bis and 7bis, numbered thus because they are branch lines split off from their respective original lines. Most of the network has been built from 1900 to 1939. After the war, most extension were focused on the RER, a metropolitan express subway system.

Technical summary

• 221.6 km (137.7 miles) of track, 380 stations, 87 offering connections between lines
• 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 of a line
• 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, 750 V DC
• 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 size varies from line to line (three to six cars) depending on passenger volume; however, trains on a given line always have the same number of cars

One single ticket price is good for any journey, unlimited connections, but limited to a 2-hour ride. Trains run from approximately 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. every day of the year.

The lines

Line 1: La Défense — Château de Vincennes

• First section opened July 19, 1900
• Length : 16.6 km (10.3 miles)
• Number of stops : 25
• Traffic (2004) : 161,600,000 journeys per annum
• Converted to rubber-tired operation 1964

Line 2: Porte Dauphine — Nation

• First section opened December 13, 1900
• Length : 12.3 km (7.6 miles)
• Traffic (2004) : 92,100,000 journeys per annum

• Number of stops : 25

Line 3: Pont de Levallois-Bécon — Gallieni

• First section opened October 19, 1904
• Length : 11.7 km (7.3 miles)
• Number of stops : 25
• Traffic (2004) : 87,600,000 journeys per annum (including traffic on line 3bis)

Line 3bis: Gambetta — Porte des Lilas

• Opened November 27, 1921 (then part of line 3)
• Length : 1.3 km (0.8 miles)
• Number of stops : 4
• Detached from line 3 April 2, 1971

Line 4: Porte de Clignancourt — Porte d'Orléans

• First section opened April 21, 1908
• Length : 10.6 km (6.6 miles)
• Number of stops : 26
• Traffic (2004) : 154,100,000 journeys per annum
• Converted to rubber-tired operation 1967

Line 5: Place d'Italie — Bobigny-Pablo Picasso

• First section opened June 2, 1906 (some sections opened earlier are now part of line 6)
• Length : 14.6 km (9.1 miles)
• Traffic (2004) : 86,100,000 journeys per annum
• Number of stops : 22

Line 6: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile — Nation

• First section opened October 2, 1900 (then part of line 5)
• Length : 13.6 km (8.6 miles)
• Number of stops : 28
• Traffic (2004) : 100,700,000 journeys per annum
• Converted to rubber-tired operation 1974

Line 7: Villejuif-Louis Aragon/Mairie d'Ivry — La Courneuve-8 Mai 1945

• First section opened November 5, 1910
• Length : 22.4 km (13.9 miles)
• Number of stops : 38
• Traffic (2004) : 120,700,000 journeys per annum (including traffic on line 7bis)

Line 7bis: Louis Blanc — Pré-Saint-Gervais

• Opened January 18, 1911 (then part of line 7)
• Length : 3.1 km (1.9 miles)
• Number of stops : 8
• Detached from line 7 December 3, 1967

Line 8: Balard — Créteil-Préfecture

• First section opened July 13, 1913
• Length : 22.1 km (13.7 miles)
• Number of stops : 37
• Traffic (2004) : 89,100,000 journeys per annum

Line 9: Pont de Sèvres — Mairie de Montreuil

• First section opened November 8, 1922
• Length : 19.6 km (12.2 miles)
• Number of stops : 37
• Traffic (2004) : 116,200,000 journeys per annum

Line 10: Boulogne-Pont de Saint-Cloud — Gare d'Austerlitz

• First section opened July 13, 1913 (then part of line 8)
• Length : 11.4 km (7.3 miles)
• Number of stops : 23
• Traffic (2004) : 41,500,000 journeys per annum

Line 11: Châtelet — Mairie des Lilas

• First section opened April 28, 1935
• Length : 6.3 km (3.9 miles)
• Number of stops : 13
• Traffic (2004) : 45,100,000 journeys per annum
• Converted to rubber-tired operation November 8, 1956

Line 12: Mairie d'Issy — Porte de La Chapelle

• First section opened November 5, 1910 (as part of Nord-Sud line A)
• Length : 13.6 km (8.9 miles)
• Number of stops : 28
• Traffic (2004) : 72,100,000 journeys per annum

Line 13: Châtillon-Montrouge — Gabriel Péri-Asnières-Gennevilliers/Saint Denis-Université

• First section opened February 26, 1911 (as part of Nord-Sud line B)
• First section opened by CMP December 30, 1923 (then part of line 10)
• Length : 22.5 km (14.0 miles)
• Number of stops : 30
• Traffic (2004) : 105,100,000 journeys per annum

Line 14: Saint-Lazare — Bibliothèque François Mitterrand

• First section (Madeleine — Bibliothèque François Mitterrand) opened October 15, 1998
• Saint-Lazare terminus opened December 16, 2003
• Length : 9.1 km (5.7 miles)
• Number of stops : 30
• Traffic (2004) : 64,100,000 journeys per annum
• Olympiade terminus (beyond Bibliothèque) was due to open in 2006, but is now delayed to the end of 2007, because of an incident during construction.
• Line 14 is fully automated. There are no drivers in trains. The platforms are separated from the tracks by transparent walls, and both the trains and platforms have doors that open automatically when the train is stopped, perfectly aligned with the doors.

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

The RER

Line A : operated by the RATP and the SNCF

• First inauguration : December 9, 1977
• Length : 108.5 km (67.4 miles)
• Number of stops : 46
• Traffic (2004) : 272,800,000 journeys per annum (on the RATP section)

Line B : operated by the RATP and the SNCF

• First inauguration : December 9, 1977
• Length : 80.0 km (49.7 miles)
• Number of stops : 47
• Traffic (2004) : 165,100,000 journeys per annum (on the RATP section)

Line C : operated by the SNCF

• First inauguration : 1979
• Length : 185.6 km (115.3 miles)
• Number of stops : 86

Line D : operated by the SNCF

• First inauguration : September 27, 1987
• Length : 145.1 km (90.2 miles)
• Number of stops : 46

Line E : operated by the SNCF

• First inauguration : 1999
• Length : 31.7 km (19.7 miles)
• Number of stops : 15

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 were built by the Ville de Paris (City of Paris) and run by the CMP (Compagnie du Chemin de Fer Métropolitain de Paris). It is thought that the name was after the Metropolitan Railway in London, which later became part of the London Underground.

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).

Accidents

• August 1903 Paris Metro train fire, 84 killed.
• August 6 2005, Fire breaks out on a train near the Simplon station. The fire injured at least 12 people before it was extinguished. Early reports blame an electrical short-circuit as fire's cause.

See also

• List of stations of the Paris Métro
• Metro systems in other cities
• RER, the Paris regional express network
• Transportation in France

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)
• Hovey, Tamara. Paris Underground, New York: Orchard Books, 1991. ISBN 0531059316

External links

• The George W Paris metro station
• Photographs of the line 14 during the works
• RATP official site
• Panoramic views of some of the most beautiful stations of the Paris Métro (in French)
• Public transportations website, Paris urban community (in French)
• General Paris Métro information
• Map of the Métro and RER
• Metro Bits — Paris Gallery

• Electric railways
• Metros in Europe
• Paris metro