RER C

RER C
Year opened	1979
Last extension	2006
Rolling stock	Z 5600, Z 8800, Z 20500, Z 20900
Stations served	84
Terminal stations
Length	185.6 km (115.3 mi)
Average interstation	2,184 m
Journeys made	140,000,000 (per annum)

The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving Paris, France. It is operated by SNCF.

The line runs from the northwestern terminuses Pontoise (C1), Versailles – Rive Gauche (C5) and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (C7) to the southeastern terminuses Massy-Palaiseau (C2), Dourdan-la-Forêt (C4), Saint-Martin d'Étampes (C6) and Versailles – Chantiers (C8).

RER C

Legend Pontoise (C 1) Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône – Liesse Pierrelaye Montigny – Beauchamp (C 3) Franconville – Le Plessis-Bouchard Cernay Ermont – Eaubonne Saint-Gratien Épinay-sur-Seine Gennevilliers Les Grésillons Saint-Ouen Porte de Clichy Pereire – Levallois Neuilly – Porte Maillot Avenue Foch Avenue Henri Martin Boulainvilliers Avenue du Président Kennedy Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (C 7) Saint-Cyr Versailles-Chantiers (Interchange with C 8) Versailles-Rive-Gauche (C 5) Porchefontaine Viroflay-Rive-Gauche Chaville – Vélizy Meudon – Val Fleury Issy Issy – Val de Seine Pont du Garigliano Javel Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel Pont de l'Alma Invalides Musée d'Orsay St-Michel – Notre-Dame Gare d'Austerlitz Bibliothèque François Mitterrand Ivry-sur-Seine Vitry-sur-Seine Les Ardoines Choisy-le-Roi Les Saules Orly – Ville Pont de Rungis – Aéroport d'Orly Rungis – La Fraternelle Chemin d'Antony Massy – Verrières Massy – Palaiseau (C 2) Villeneuve-le-Roi Ablon Athis-Mons Juvisy Savigny-sur-Orge Petit Vaux Gravigny – Balizy Chilly-Mazarin Longjumeau Massy – Palaiseau (Interchange with C 2) Igny Bièvres Vauboyen Jouy-en-Josas Petit Jouy – Les Loges Versailles – Chantiers (C 8) Épinay-sur-Orge Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Saint-Michel-sur-Orge Brétigny-sur-Orge La Norville – Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon Arpajon Égly Breuillet – Bruyères-le-Châtel Breuillet – Village Saint-Chéron Sermaise Dourdan Dourdan-la-Forêt (C 4) Marolles-en-Hurepoix Bouray Lardy Chamarande Étréchy Étampes Saint-Martin-d'Étampes (C 6)

History

The view from Île aux Cygnes towards the Eiffel Tower, with a RER-C train crossing the Pont Rouelle.

Line C was opened on 26 September 1979 following the construction of a new 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) tunnel connecting the Gare d'Orsay railway terminus (now Musée d'Orsay) with the Invalides terminus of the Rive Gauche line to Versailles, along the banks of the Seine. Services operated between Versailles – Rive Gauche – Invalides – Quai-d'Orsay, branching to Massy – Palaiseau, and Juvisy – Dourdan / Saint-Martin d'Étampes.

May 1980 : Service extended Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Versailles – Chantiers – Gare des Invalides.

On 25 September 1988 the VMI ("Vallée de Montmorency – Invalides") branch to the north-west opened. This branch mostly used the infrastructure of the "ligne d'Auteuil" (incorporated into the "ligne de petite ceinture" from 1867, closed to passengers from 22 July 1934), and a new 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) tunnel connection between Batignolles and St-Ouen, connecting to the RER C's main trunk at Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel via a curved bridge (the only one in Paris) over the Seine river. This extended services to Montigny – Beauchamp and Argenteuil.

Porte de Clichy opened on 29 September 1991. Located between Pereire – Levallois and St-Ouen.

In 1992 the line was extended from Juvisy to Versailles.

A further 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) extension from Montigny – Beauchamp to Pontoise was opened on 28 August 2000. On the same day a new station, Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, opened in order to create a new connexion with Métro Line 14. Located between Paris-Austerlitz and Boulevard Masséna (which was closed and replaced by the new station).

Another new station, St-Ouen-l'Aumône-Liesse, opened on 24 March 2002. Located between Pierrelaye and St-Ouen-l'Aumône.

The C3 branch (from Ermont-Eaubonne to Argenteuil) transferred to the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail network on 27 August 2006.

On 16 December 2006 Boulevard Victor was renamed Boulevard Victor – Pont du Garigliano to highlight the new interchange with tramway line T3.

Geographically accurate path of the RER C.

See also

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

External links

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