Paris Métro Line 1

Line 1
Year opened	1900
Last extension	1992
Rolling stock	MP 89 MP 05 6 carriages per trainset
Stations served	25
Terminal stations	La Défense/ Château de Vincennes
Length	16.6 km (10.3 mi)
Average interstation	692 m
Journeys made	213,921,408 (per annum)

Paris Métro Line 1 is one of the sixteen lines composing the Paris Métro (in Paris, France). It connects the La Défense – Grande Arche and Château de Vincennes stations. With a 16.5 km length, it constitutes an "East-West" route transportation important for the City of Paris. Excluding RER (French: Réseau Express Régional) lines, it is the most utilised subway line on the network with 213 million travellers in 2008 and 725,000 people per day on average.

Line 1, as indicated by its name, was the first one to open, its first section opened in 1900.

Between 2008 and 2011, a project was undertaken to make Line 1 fully automated, as the Line 14. Automation process included new rolling stock, MP 05, and laying of platform edge doors in all stations. The construction process was completed during summer 2011 and the first eight MP 05 trains (#s 501 through 508) went into passenger service on November 3, 2011 [1][2]. Transfer of the existing MP 89 stock from Line 1 to Line 4 began in May, 2011 with train #01. Since then, a total of ten trains have been moved to Line 4 (as of December 21, 2011) [3].

History

Train at Bastille station in 1908

In November 1898, Paris decided to undertake preliminary work of the metro network with the construction of the first line of the Parisian subway system. Work lasted twenty months under the leadership of engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe and was financed by the municipality of Paris. The line was divided into eight parts distributed between several companies. On 19 July 1900, the line was opened between Porte Maillot and Porte de Vincennes to connect the various sites of the World Fair. Only eight stations were finalized and opened with the inauguration; ten more were gradually opened between 6 August and 1 September 1900. The line followed the east-west monument axis in Paris. These eighteen stations were entirely built under the control of engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe, the majority of them 75 metres long and 4.10 metres wide. In March 1934, the first extension into the suburbs brought service to Château of Vincennes towards the east.

Chronology

• 19 July 1900: Inauguration of line 1 between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot. Only 8 of the 18 planned stations were opened.
• 6 August and 1 September 1900: The other 10 stations of the line opened.
• 24 March 1934: The line was extended to the east from Porte de Vincennes to the castle of Vincennes.
• 15 November 1936: Porte Maillot station was rebuilt in order to allow a further extension of the line to the west.
  

  

  An MP 89CC stock train near Pont de Neuilly. These trains are now being moved to Line 4.
• 29 April 1937: The line was extended to the west from Porte Maillot to Pont de Neuilly.
• 1963: The rails were converted in order to accommodate rubber-tyred trains. At the same time, stations were enlarged in order to accommodate 6-car trains instead of 5-car trains.
• 1 April 1992: The line was extended again to the west from Pont de Neuilly to La Défense business district.
• 3 November 2011: Cascading of MP 89CC to MP 05 stock began, as work to fully automate the line is nearing completion.

Future

The new MP 05 stock train near Pont de Neuilly

The line is being converted to a fully automated system (similar to Line 14), with end of automation scheduled for end 2011 as of mid-2010. Automation will be carried without interrupting traffic, with both automatic (MP 05) and manual (MP 89 CC) rolling stock running simultaneously until enough automatic rolling stock is available, thanks to the SAET (French: Système d'automatisation de l'exploitation des trains) system, which is the first version of Siemens Transportation Systems' Trainguard MT CBTC.

A western extension of Line 1 from La Défense station to the center of Nanterre is being considered. An eastern extension to Rigollots and later to Val de Fontenay is also being investigated.

Map and stations

Map of Paris Métro Line 1.

Stations renamed

• 27 May 1920: Alma station renamed George V.
• 5 May 1931: Reuilly station renamed Reuilly-Diderot.
• 20 May 1931: Champs-Élysées renamed Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau.
• 26 April 1937: Tourelle renamed Tourelle – Saint-Mandé.
• 6 October 1942: Marbeuf renamed Marbeuf – Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées.
• 30 October 1946: Marbeuf – Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées renamed Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 25 May 1948: Obligado renamed Argentine.
• 1970: Étoile renamed Charles-de-Gaulle – Étoile.
• 1989: Palais Royal renamed Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre after the entrance to the museum was moved with the building of the Louvre Pyramid. At the same time, Louvre station renamed Louvre – Rivoli.
• 1997: Grande Arche de la Défense station renamed La Défense.
• 26 July 2002: Saint-Mandé – Tourelle renamed Saint-Mandé.

Tourism

Line 1 passes near several places of interest:

• La Défense Paris high-rise district which is dominated by the Grande Arche.
• The Arc de Triomphe at Charles de Gaulle-Étoile. A 289 step staircase is open to the public and leads to the top of the Arch. There is also a museum on the top floor.
• L'Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
• The Place de la Concorde dominated by the Obelisk, Tuileries garden and Louvre museum.
• The Louvre station has copies of works of art from the museum and has historical information. The station's benches are made of glass and the Western portal has Roman-inspired arches along the platform edge.
• The Hôtel de Ville (Paris City Hall) and the Marais district.
• Bastille and the nearby Opera.
• Gare de Lyon train station.
• The Place de la Nation.
• The Bois de Vincennes (Vincennes Wood) and Vincennes Zoo.
• The Château de Vincennes. A medieval castle to the east of Paris.

Gallery

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  Bastille station

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  Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau

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  Gare de Lyon

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  Hôtel de Ville

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  Nation

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  Pont de Neuilly

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  MP 89 at Pont de Neuilly

See also

• List of stations of the Paris Métro
• List of stations of the Paris RER

External links

• (French) RATP official website
  • (English) RATP english speaking website
  • (English) Interactive Map of the RER (from RATP's website)
  • (English) Interactive Map of the Paris métro (from RATP's website)
• (French) Metro-Pole website, dedicated to Paris public transports (unofficial)