UrbanRail.Net > Europe > France > Métro de PARIS - Paris Subway
- ️Thu Jul 19 1900
Paris,
the capital of France (2.2 million inh., 6.7 million n Greater Paris and
10.8 million in Ile-de-France), is one of Europe's metro flagships. After
London (1863), Glasgow and Budapest (both 1896) this is the continent's
fourth oldest metro system and probably the densest.
The first line (ligne 1) was opened in 1900 as part of a planned six-line network [View 1952 network]. Currently, Paris has 14 Métro lines and 2 branches (see full map here) that are operated as separate lines.
As of July 2024, the total length of the network is roughly 245.5 km:
L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 | L5 | L6 | L7 | L8 | L9 | L10 | L11 | L12 | L13 | L14
16.5
km - 25 stations; almost entirely underground except for Bastille
station and the Seine bridge between Pont de Neuilly and Esplanade
de la Défense. After platform screen doors and a new operating
system (Siemens Trainguard MT CBTC) have been installed, the first driverless
trains started running on Line 1 on 3 Nov 2011. By early 2013, once all
trains on this line had been replaced with new MP05 stock, full driverless
operation with headways of only 85 seconds was introduced.
19/07/1900:
Porte de Vincennes – Port Maillot (8 stations of 18,
the rest were opened between 06/08/1900 and 01/09/1900)
03/1934: Porte de Vincennes – Château de Vincennes
04/1937: Port Maillot (new station) – Pont de Neuilly
04/1992: Pont de Neuilly – Grande Arche de La Défense
(northern
ring line, until 14/10/1907 called ligne 2 Nord) (12 km):
13/12/1900:
Porte Dauphine – Charles de Gaulle Etoile
10/1902: Charles de Gaulle Etoile – Anvers
31/01/1903: Anvers – Rue de Bagnolet (since 1970 Alexandre
Dumas)
02/04/1903: Rue de Bagnolet (Alexandre Dumas) – Nation
(12
km):
10/10/1904:
Père Lachaise – Villiers
01/1905 Père Lachaise – Gambetta
05/1910: Villiers – Péreire
02/1911: Péreire – Pte. Champerret
09/1937: Pte. Champerret – Pont de Levallois/Bécon
02/04/1971: Gambetta – Gallieni
(1.3
km):
27/11/1921: Gambetta – Porte des Lilas (originally part of line 3, since 1971 separate)
(13.9
km, driverless operation since Jan 2024):
21/04/1908:
Porte de Clignancourt – Châtelet
30/10/1909: Porte d'Orleans – Raspail
09/01/1910 Châtelet – Raspail
23/03/2013:
Porte d'Orleans – Mairie de Montrouge (0.8 km)
13/01/2022: Mairie de Montrouge – Bagneux - Lucie Aubrac
(1.8 km)
Les Halles station reconstructed and reopened on 03/10/1977 with new RER station.
After the first section of the southern extension from Porte d'Orl�ans to Mairie de Montrouge was brought into service in March 2013, line 4 was extended further south, with two stations, Barbara and Bagneux-Lucie Aubrac.
(14.5
km):
02/06/1906:
Place d'Italie – Gare d’Orléans (now Gare d’Austerlitz)
07/1906: Gare d’Austerlitz – Place Mazas (now
Quai de la Rapée)
12/1906: Quai de la Rapée – Lancry (now Jacques
Bonsergent)
15/11/1907: Jacques Bonsergent – Gare du Nord
10/1942: Gare du Nord – Église de Pantin
25/04/1985: Église de Pantin – Bobigny -
Pablo Picasso
(southern
ring line) (13.5 km), until 14/10/1907 called ligne 2 Sud; then until
1942 Étoile - Pl. d'Italie section was a part of line 5;
Pl. d’Italie – Nation was a ligne 6:
02/10/1900:
Étoile – Trocadéro
11/1903: Trocadéro – Passy
04/1906: Passy – Place d'Italie
03/1909: Place d'Italie – Nation
At Étoile - Charles de Gaulle trains reverse in a loop, there is also such a loop at Nation which is only used during rush hours.
(22.5
km)
05/11/1910:
Porte de la Villette – Opéra
07/1916: Opéra – Palais Royal
04/1926: Palais Royal – Pont-Marie
02/1930: (Odéon (L10) –) Place Monge – Place
d’Italie
03/1930: Place d’Italie – Porte de Choisy
06/1930: Pont-Marie – Pont Sully (now Sully Morland)
26/04/1931: Sully Morland – Place Monge – Porte
d'Ivry
01/05/1945 Porte d'Ivry – Mairie d'Ivry
10/1979 Porte de la Villette – Fort d'Aubervilliers
12/1982: Maison Blanche – Le Kremlin-Bicêtre
02/1985: Le Kremlin-Bicêtre – Villejuif - Louis Aragon
06/05/1987: Fort d'Aubervilliers – La Courneuve
Pierre Curie station renamed Pierre et Marie Curie on 8 Mar 2007.
(3
km):
18/01/1911: Pré-St.Gervais – Louis Blanc (line 7 branch, separate line since 1967)
(23.3
km):
13/07/1913:
(Charles Michels on today's Line 10) – La Motte Picquet
Grenelle – Opéra
06/1928: Opéra – Richelieu-Drouot
05/1931: Richelieu-Drouot – Porte de Charenton
07/1937: La Motte Picquet Grenelle – Balard
10/1942: Porte de Charenton – Charenton-Écoles
09/1970: Charenton-Écoles – Maisons-Alfort Stade
04/1972: Maisons-Alfort Stade – Maisons-Alfort Les Juilliottes
09/1973: Maisons-Alfort Les Juilliottes – Créteil-l’Échat
10/09/1974: Créteil-l’Échat – Créteil-Préfecture
08/10/2011: Créteil-Préfecture – Cr�teil
- Pointe du Lac
At
Commerce platforms are not opposite each other, but staggered.
(20
km):
08/11/1922:
Exelmans – Trocadéro
05/1923: Trocadéro – Saint-Augustin
06/1923: Saint-Augustin – Chaussée d'Antin
09/1923: Exelmans – Porte de Saint-Cloud
06/1928: Chaussée d'Antin – Richelieu-Drouot
12/1933: Richelieu-Drouot – Porte de Montreuil
02/1934: Porte de Saint-Cloud – Pont de Sèvres
10/1937: Porte de Montreuil – Mairie de Montreuil
(12
km):
13/07/1913:
La Motte Picquet Grenelle – Beaugrenelle (now Charles Michels)
(as a branch of Ligne 8)
09/1913: Charles Michels – Porte d'Auteuil
12/1923: (Invalides – Duroc) – Croix Rouge (closed
after WWII)
03/1925: Duroc – Mabillon
02/1926: Mabillon – Odéon
02/1930: Odéon – Maubert Mutualité (–
Pl. d’Italie, from Place de Monge using the tracks
of today's Ligne 7);
04/1931: Maubert Mutualité – Jussieu
07/1937: La Motte Picquet Grenelle – Duroc
07/1939: Jussieu – Gare d'Austerlitz
10/1980: Porte d'Auteuil – Boulogne Jean Jaurès
02/10/1981: Boulogne Jean Jaurès – Boulogne Pont de
St.Cloud
(11.9
km):
28/04/1935:
Châtelet – Porte des Lilas
17/02/1937: Porte des Lilas – Mairie des Lilas
13/06/2024:
Mairie des Lilas � Rosny Bois-Perrier
(5.4 km)
[Project
Website]
(17.2
km):
05/11/1910:
Porte de Versailles – Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
04/1911: Notre-Dame-de-Lorette – Pigalle
10/1912: Pigalle – Jules-Joffrin
08/1916: Jules-Joffrin – Porte de la Chapelle
24/03/1934: Porte de Versailles – Mairie d'Issy
18/12/2012:
Porte de la Chapelle – Aubervilliers
Front Populaire
31/05/2022: Aubervilliers
Front Populaire –
Mairie d'Aubervilliers (2 km) Project
Website
(23
km):
26/02/1911:
Saint-Lazare – Porte de Saint-Ouen
01/1912: La Fourche – Porte de Clichy
12/1923 Invalides – Duroc (formerly a part of a line
10; then line 14)
01/1937: Montparnasse-Bienvenüe – Porte de Vanves
07/1937: Montparnasse-Bienvenüe – Duroc
06/1952: Porte de Saint-Ouen – Carrefour Pleyel
06/1973: Saint-Lazare – Miromesnil
02/1975: Miromesnil – Champs-Elysées Clémenceau
05/1976: Carrefour Pleyel – Saint-Denis-Basilique
11/1976: Champs-Elysées Clémenceau – Invalides
(connection with ex-line 14) and Porte de Vanves – Châtillon-Montrouge
05/1980: Porte de Clichy - Gabriel Péri
25/05/1998: Saint-Denis-Basilique - Saint-Denis Université
14/06/2008: Gabriel
P�ri - Asnières-Gennevilliers Les Courtilles (1.9 km)
At Liège platforms are not opposite each other, and at La Fourche the trains coming from St.Denis stop on the lower level.
Line 13 was planned to be further extended from Asni�res-Gennevilliers Les Courtilles to Port de Gennevilliers.
(28
km)
Finally in the 1990's Paris started to build a new metro line, the so-called METEOR (Métro Est Ouest Rapide) although from the day of inauguration (15/Oct/1998) it is called ligne 14. This line is meant to alleviate ligne 1 and RER ligne A in the central area and starts at Maison Blanche in the south, then runs parallel to ligne 1 and A between Gare de Lyon and Châtelet-les Halles and finally turns north to St. Lazare from where it will be connected to the western branch (Gabriel Péri) of ligne 13. After some years of delay the first stretch from Bibliothèque F. Mitterrand (planned as Tolbiac-Masséna) to Madeleine was finally opened in October 1998. In summer 1998 construction work for the second section to St. Lazare started, which was finished in Dec. 2003. In autumn 2000, construction of a small workshop began, which was necessary to rebuild the original workshop into Olympiades station that was finally completed in June 2007.
Ligne 14 was initially planned to be extended north to Place de Clichy and La Fourche and connected to one of the northern branches of ligne 13, but eventually it was extended on a completely new route to Mairie de Saint-Ouen (RER C) via Porte de Clichy (Ligne 13).
15/10/1998:
Madeleine – Bibliothèque François Mitterrand
16/12/2003: Madeleine – Saint-Lazare
26/06/2007: Bibliothèque François Mitterrand –
Olympiades
14/12/2020: Saint-Lazare – Mairie de Saint-Ouen (5.8
km)
28/01/2021: Porte de Clichy station
24/06/2024:
Mairie de St-Ouen �
St-Denis-Pleyel & Olympiades �
Aéroport d'Orly (14
km)
18/01/2025: + Villejuif-Gustave Roussy
The construcion of the Grand Paris Express network is underway, a system of circular and tangential metro lines around Paris proper:
Line 15 - a sort of orbital line with a handle in the east, with the southern section between Pont de Sèvres (M9) to Noisy Champs to be built first. Later, a western extension will continue to La Défense an the new hub at Saint-Denis Pleyel near the current RER station on line D. The eastern leg of this line will parallel the existing RER E route between Rosny-Bois-Perrier and Nogent Le Perreux and terminate at Champigny (Pont de Sèvres - Champigny > 2024).
Line 16 - from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Noisy Champs via Sevran Beaudottes and Sevran Livry, both on RER line B.
Line 17 - will also start at Saint-Denis Pleyel and share tracks with line 16 up to Le Bourget before heading northeast towards Charles-de-Gaulle Airport and eventually to Le Mesnil Amelot.
Line 18 - less defined, it would serve the southwestern outskirts between Versailles and Orly.
Details and progress of all these projects can be found at Societé du Grand Paris!
After World War II actually only metro extensions outside the city limits were built (apart from St.Lazare - Invalides). In the 70's and 80's special emphasis was put on the RER System (Regional Express Network) which currently consists of five lines (A, B, C, D, E) crossing the city underground (line C only partly) and connecting formerly existing suburban rail lines. This network is operated jointly by RATP (Métro and buses) and SNCF (French National Railways). The last of these lines, which was formerly referred to as EOLE, now ligne E, opened in July 1999 between St. Lazare and Magenta. On 3 Dec 2000, a new station was opened on Line C at Bibliothèque François Mitterrand to provide transfer to Line 14. This new station replaces the former Masséna station.
Photos ©
Thomas Schunk
Besides its dense metro system and extensive RER network, Paris now has several tram lines which, however, do not form a proper network, but each line operates separately and has its own characteristics, though all share the standard gauge of 1435 mm. Click here for more details.
Tram Atlas Frankreich | France (2nd edition, 2022)
This revised edition of our bilingual (German/English) and illustrated atlas includes all tramway and trolleybus cities in France, plus all the M�tro and VAL systems. Each city features a detailled system map, some with an enlarged city centre area, showing all stops, loops, single-track section, depots etc. Short texts provide information about special features, while details about history and operation are presented in tables. All current vehicles are depicted in one of the numerous colour photographs.
Angers, Aubagne, Avignon, Besan�on, Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Le Havre, Le Mans, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Orl�ans, Paris, Reims, Rouen, Saint-�tienne, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Tours, Valenciennes
160
pages, 17x24 cm, approx. 300 colour images, network maps, text Deutsch/English
Feb. 2022 - ISBN 978 3 936573 66 4, EUR 19.50
More info here!
U-Bahn, S-Bahn & Tram in Paris
The French capital has much more to offer to urban rail enthusiasts than the world-famous "M�tro", which is currently being expanded on a large scale in the outer areas of the Paris conurbation. Known as "RER", frequent cross-city trains run far beyond the city limits, a network complemented by a series of radial suburban lines classified as "Transilien". In addition, there are now 11 tram lines, some of them isolated from each other, including two "Tram-Train" routes operated by SNCF, and two "Translohr" lines, which feature trams on rubber tyres. The transport scene is rounded off by two VAL systems, i.e. driverless small-profile metros that connect the two major airports. In this book, author Christoph Groneck presents every means of urban rail transport, giving an overview of the respective history of each system and the vehicles used. At the end of the book, the reader will find detailed maps in the form of an atlas of the entire metropolitan area of Paris, which is home to some 10 million people.160
pages, 17x24 cm, approx. 300 colour images, network maps, text Deutsch/English
May 2020 - ISBN 978 3 936573 62 6, EUR 19.50
More info here!
Christoph Groneck: METROS IN FRANKREICH / METROS IN FRANCE. Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, Rennes, Rouen & Laon. - Aug. 2006, Robert Schwandl Verlag, ISBN 3 936573 13 1 (More info)
Mark
Ovenden: Paris Metro Style: In Map and Station
Design
Arnold Delaney: PARIS BY METRO. An Underground History. - 2006, 100 p., Interlink Publishing Group, ISBN 1566566460 - explains origin of all station names with several colour photos
Larry Yust: METRO. - Oct. 2004. 136 p., Gingko Press, ISBN: 1584231742 Spectacular photos of Paris metro stations
F.
Descouturelle, A. Mignard, M. Rodriguez: Le M�tropolitain d'Hector
Guimard . -
Oct. 2003, 152 p., Somogy, ISBN 2850566691
Jean-Pierre Rigouard: Le Métro de Paris. Tome 2: Les lignes compl�mentaires (Lignes 7 - 13). - Feb. 2003, 128 pages, Alan Sutton; Collection : memoire en images, ISBN 2842538471
Jean-Pierre Rigouard: Le M�tro de Paris. Tome 1: Les premi�res lignes.- 2002, 128 pages, Alan Sutton ISBN 2842537777
Gaston Jacobs: Le m�tro de Paris. Un si�cle de mat�riel roulant. - 2001, 223p. La Vie du rail , ISBN 2902808976
Gérard Rolland: Stations de métro Le dictionnaire des 366 stations. - Christine Bonneton Éditeur, Paris, 2003 (new edition). - Explains origin of station names.
Jean-Paul Carminati: Dictionnaire imaginaire des stations de métro
Clive Lamming: Paris Ferroviaire. - 2002, Parigramme, ISBN 2840962926
Clive Lamming: Paris Tram. - 2003, Parigramme, ISBN 2840961962
Jean Orselli: Les nouveaux tramways: Comment ne pas rater son tram. - 2004, Paradigme, Collection: Transports et communication, 268 p., ISBN 2868782388
Christoph Groneck: Neue Straßenbahnen in Frankreich. - 2003, 167p., Ek-Verlag, ISBN 388255844X
Plotkin, Susan L.: The Paris Metro - A Ticket to French History. - ISBN 0738852473, April 2001
Roland,
G�rard: PARIS METRO RETRO
- C.
Bonneton, 2001. ISBN 2862532797
This small book (pocket sized, printed on glossy paper) is a story of
the Metro at the beginning of the 20th century through old postcards (building,
trains, stations, ...) with comments by the author.
Hardy, Brian: PARIS METRO HANDBOOK. - Capital Transport, new 1999 edition.
Lamming, Clive: MÉTRO INSOLITE. - Parigramme, Paris, 176 p., many photos (March 2001). ISBN 2840961903
Various:
Le kiosque des noctambules, une oeuvre de Jean Michel Othoniel.
- Flohic, Dec. 2000, ISBN 2842341082, 80 pages - It' s the story of the
new metro entrance called "Le Kiosque des Noctambules" at station Palais-Royal.
Chansons Metropolitains. (CD) - 48 songs from 1900-2000 related with the Métro (leaflet included). Feb. 2001
Jean Tricoire: Un Siècle de Métro en 14 Lignes - Best book on Paris Metro
Jean Tricoire: Le métro de Paris: 1899-1911 : images de la construction
Game/Michaud: Métro histoires illustrees des stations
Satoshi Kako: Les travaux du métro
Sheila Hallsted-Baumert, a.o.: Métro-cité : le chemin de fer métropolitain à la conquête de Paris, 1871-1945
Jean-Claude Demory: Le métro de chez nous
Berton, Claude and Alexandre Ossadzow: FULGENCE BIENVENÜE et la construction du Métropolitain de Paris. - Presses de l'école nationale des Ponts et chaussées, Paris, 1998.
Bruno Latour: ARAMIS ou l'amour des techniques. - La Decouverte (Textes a l App); ISBN 2707121207. Explains a former MATRA project of a small automatic metro tested in Paris in the 1980's.
Transilien - SNCF Suburban Rail in Ile-de-France
Ile-de-France Mobilités (ex STIF)
AMATUIR.org (Association pour le Mus�e des Transports Urbains, Interurbains et Ruraux) incl. large metrpo history section
Societé du Grand Paris (Grand Paris Express Metro Expansion)
Paris Metro at Wikipedia and Wikipedia.fr
SymBioz - Transport en Commun à Paris
Carto.metro - Fantastic track maps, for Métro, RER and Tram
A Railfan's Guide to the Paris M�tro by David Pierman
Paris Metro Pictures on Railfan Europe
Metrorama Photos panoramiques du m�tro de Paris
All Guimard station entrances at Paris Inconnu