Paris Métro Line 14

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line 14
Year opened 1998
Last extension 2003
Rolling stock MP 89
Stations served 8
Length 7.9 km
Length 4.9 mi
Average interstation 1129 m
Journeys made 64,100,000 (per annum)
Paris public transport
Métro lines
line 1 line 7bis
line 2 line 8
line 3 line 9
line 3bis line 10
line 4 line 11
line 5 line 12
line 6 line 13
line 7 line 14
RER lines
line A line D
line B line E
line C
Suburban rail (Transilien)
Saint-Lazare Nord
La Défense Est
Montparnasse Lyon
Airport shuttles
CDGVAL Orlyval
Bus
Bus (RATP) Noctilien
  Bus (Optile)  
Tramway
Tramway T1 Tramway T2
Tramway T3 Tramway T4
Line 14 - St Lazare station
Enlarge
Line 14 - St Lazare station

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 second automated line of Paris Métro after Orlyval. Before being put into commercial service, it was known by its project name, Meteor, an acronym of Métro Est-Ouest Rapide.

Contents

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

The French government started the project in 1989 and the tunnels were dug between 1993 and 1995. It was opened to the public in 1998 and had its first automatic run in October 1998.

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 some unusual 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.

[edit] 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 and actually matching with the glass pyramids built in the Cour du Louvre
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
Olympiades[1] opening scheduled for 2007

[edit] Future

1/10 scale model of the new m2 metro in Lausanne, of the same type as the Paris line 14.
Enlarge
1/10 scale model of the new m2 metro in Lausanne, of the same type as the Paris line 14.

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.

[edit] Map

Geographically accurate path of Paris metro line 14.
Enlarge
Geographically accurate path of Paris metro line 14.

[edit] Tourism

Metro line 14 passes near several places of interest:

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Stations renamed

  • October 6, 1942 : Bienvenüe was renamed as Montparnasse - Bienvenüe (today on line 13).

[edit] 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.
  • 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.
  • Line 14 uses the "SAET" system, which consists in using "moving block" signalling as opposed to traditional "fixed block" signalling. The purpose of this system is to generate a greater train frequency and to avoid the "traffic jams" that traditional signalling would cause. The RER A, which is the urban rail line experiencing the heaviest trafic in the western world, also use moving blocks, but with the partially automated SACEM system. Line 13 and Line 1, both among the busiest metro lines in Paris, should be converted to moving blocks, line 1 fully automated with SAET, line 13 with the partially automated "Ouragan" system, in the upcoming years.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

    [edit] External links


    Paris Métro Line 14

    Saint-Lazare ⇒ 3 12 13 E · Madeleine ⇒ 8 12 · Pyramides ⇒ 7 · Châtelet ⇒ 1 4 7 11 A B D · Gare de Lyon ⇒ 1 A D · Bercy ⇒ 6 · Cour Saint-Émilion · Bibliothèque François Mitterrand ⇒ C
    Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/a/r/Paris_M%C3%A9tro_Line_14_8be0.html"