Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (June 2007)

The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (Paris Metropolitan Railway Company), or CMP, is the ancestor of the RATP, the company managing the Parisian subway.

[edit] The beginnings

In order not to be dependent on the Company of the state railways for the urban service road, Paris decided in 1883 on the construction of a subway network. In spite of the tensions between the State and the City for the control of the operation, the proximity of the expiry of the World Fair of 1900 brought the persons in charge to accelerate the steps. In 1895, Louis Barthou, public Minister for Labour, recognized a local interest with the lines construction. The work of structures (tunnels, viaducts and stations) were entrusted to the City. Those of the access, the ways and the exploitation with a dealer. The town council chose in 1897 the general Company of traction, propriétré of the baron Édouard Louis Joseph Empain. The law of March 30, 1898 declared a public utility for "the construction of a metropolitan railway to electric traction, intended for the transport of the travellers and their hand luggage". The general Company of traction created the Company of the metropolitan railway of Paris (CMP) in April 1899.

[edit] The first lines

Construction started under the responsibility of engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe. Line 1 was opened in 1900 after twenty months of work. The following line, Porte Dauphine-Nation opened in April 1903.

[edit] Fusions

In 1929, the company amalgamated by keeping its label of origin, with the Company of the North-South underground electric railroad of Paris. In 1938, the CMP took again the line of Seals, which formed part until there of the Company of the railroad from Paris in Orleans (PO). In 1942, the company amalgamated with the Company of public transport of the Paris area which was limited to the surface transports. The files of the company were destroyed with the Release by the very young RATP which took the continuation in 1949.