Paris Metro Line 14
Encyclopedia : P : PA : PAR : Paris Metro Line 14
| line 14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year opened | 1998 | ||
| Last extension | 2003 | ||
| Rolling stock | MP 89 | ||
| Stations served | 8 | ||
| Length (km) | 7.9 | ||
| Length (miles) | 4.9 | ||
| Average interstation (m) | 1129 | ||
| Journeys made | 64,100,000 (per annum) | ||
| |||
Paris Metro Line 14 of Paris Métro crosses the center of Paris and currently runs between the Saint Lazare and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand stations. It was the first automated line of Paris Métro. Before being put into commercial service, it was known by its project name, Meteor, an acronym of Métro Est-Ouest Rapide.
Chronology
- October 15, 1998: The new line 14 was inaugurated between Madeleine and Bibliothèque F. Mitterrand.
- December 16, 2003: Line 14 was extended north from Madeleine to Saint-Lazare.
The Meteor Project
The Meteor project had the following objectives:
- To reduce the burden on RER line A, which was overloaded on the section crossing Paris;
- To connect East Paris with West Paris without using an existing RER line;
- To improve service to the left bank of the Seine, especially in the XIIIe arrondissement.
Before the current line 14 was built, there was another line 14 that existed until 1976. It corresponded to the southern section of the current line 13 (connecting Invalides with Porte de Vanves.)
Some features of Line 14's train control system are run under the OpenVMS Operating System. Its control system is noted in the field of software engineering of critical systems because safety properties on some safety-critical parts of the systems were proved using the B-Method, a formal method.
Line 14 has unique design features — its floor tiling is not bitumenized, and platform edge doors at stations prevent passengers from falling onto the track or from committing suicide.
List of stations
| Station | Connections | observations |
|---|---|---|
| Saint-Lazare | Lines 3, 9, 12, 13 RER E Transilien Saint-Lazare Gare Saint-Lazare grande Line | |
| Madeleine | Lines 8 and 12 | near the Église de la Madeleine |
| Pyramides | Line 7 | named after Battle of the Pyramids |
| Châtelet | Lines 1, 4, 7 and 11 RER A, B and D | named after Place du Châtelet |
| Gare de Lyon | Line 1 RER A and D Transilien Lyon Gare de Lyon (national rails) | named after railway station to Lyon |
| Bercy | Line 6 Gare de Bercy (national rails) | |
| Cour Saint-Émilion | ||
| Bibliothèque François Mitterrand | RER C | named after François Mitterrand |
| opening scheduled for 2007 |
Future
Work is underway to extend the line south to Olympiades in 2007, an area of high rise towers in the XIIIe arrondissement that is currently not served very well. Actually, this is not a real extension: the tunnel was built at the same time as the rest of the line, but it is currently used as a train parking area, so a new parking area is under construction. The building of this extension caused the collapse of the courtyard of an elementary school; fortunately, on that day, no children were present. For various reasons, the underground of much of Paris is quite fragile and considerable care must be exercised before tunnelling work. (See Catacombs of Paris.)
It is also planned to extend the line from Olympiades to Maison Blanche, with a connection to Line 7's Villejuif branch possible. Line 14 may also be extended north to Place de Clichy and/or La Fourche, with a possible connection to one of Line 13's branches.
An extension to Orly Airport is highly unlikely at present.
Map
Tourism
Metro line 14 passes near several places of interest:- Two 19th-century train stations: Saint-Lazare and Gare de Lyon.
- The Church of the Madeleine.
- At Bercy, the Ministry of Finance, Paris-Bercy sports Arena and its gardens.
- Bercy village.
- The Bibliothèque nationale de France National Library of France and Paris' largest library.
The former line 14
The first line 14 was actually planned as line C of the Nord-Sud company (line A being today's line 12 and line B being today's line 13). Unfortunately, the Nord-Sud company went bankrupt in 1930 and was taken over by the other company operating Paris metro: the CMP (which later became the RATP). The CMP subsequently implemented Line C as line 14. In the 1970s, the line was incorporated to the line 13.Chronology
- January 21, 1937: The line 14 was inaugurated between Bienvenüe and Porte de Vanves.
- July 27, 1937: The line was extended northbound from Bienvenüe to Duroc. The section between Invalides and Duroc which used to be served by line 10 was tranferred to line 14.
- November 9, 1976: Line 14 was incorporated into line 13, which became a complete north-south line.
Stations renamed
Trivia
- The subway of Lausanne (new m2 line) uses a shortened version of the trains used on line 14, with only two cars per train.
- Line 14 is the only fully automated line in the Métro system, with driverless trains. Therefore it is often the only line to run normally during labor strikes.
- The line is the deepest of the regular Métro lines, mainly because the higher subterranean levels of the city were already crowded with other Métro lines and infrastructure.
- Stations are audibly announced twice at each stop on the line.
- Visible indicators near the doors alert the hearing-impaired to door closure.
- All trainsets on line 14 allow passengers to walk from one end of the train to the other inside the train.
- All stations are accessible to wheelchairs on Line 14.
See also
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)
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