Paris Métro Line 3
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Paris Métro Line 3 (
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
: ''Ligne 3 du métro de Paris'') is one of the sixteen lines of the
Paris Métro The Paris Métro (, , or , ), short for Métropolitain (), is a rapid transit system serving the Paris metropolitan area in France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architectur ...
. It connects Pont de Levallois–Bécon station in the near northwestern suburbs to
Gallieni Joseph Simon Gallieni (24 April 1849 – 27 May 1916) was a French military officer, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies where he wrote several books on colonial affairs. He was reca ...
in the east. After opening as the network's third line in 1904, it was the subject of a number of extensions, with a major restructuring occurring in the eastern section in 1971, with an extension to Gallieni and the conversion of the original terminal branch to Line 3bis. With a length of , Line 3 crosses Paris from west to east completely on the
Rive Droite The Rive Droite (; Right Bank) is most commonly associated with the river Seine in central Paris. Here, the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two parts. When facing downstream, the northern bank is to the right, whereas the sout ...
, serving the residential areas of the 17th arrondissement, the
Gare Saint-Lazare The Gare Saint-Lazare (; ), officially Paris Saint Lazare, is one of the seven large mainline List of Paris railway stations, railway station terminals in Paris, France. It was the first railway station built in Paris, opening in 1837. It mostly ...
, important stores and shopping centres, the area around the
Place de l'Opéra The Place de l'Opéra () is a square in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris, at the junction of the Boulevard des Italiens, Boulevard des Capucines, Avenue de l'Opéra, , , Rue de la Paix and . It was built at the same tim ...
, as well as the east of the city, around
République Republique or La République or ''variation'' may refer to: ;Places * République (Paris Métro), a station of the Paris Métro * ''République'' (video game), an episodic action-adventure stealth video game * Place de la République (disambiguat ...
station. In 2017, it carried 101.4 million riders, making it the tenth busiest line of the Métro network.


History


Chronology

*10 October 1904: The first portion of Line 3 was opened between Père Lachaise cemetery and Villiers. Work took longer than expected because of existing infrastructure. *25 January 1905: The line was extended in the east from Père Lachaise to Gambetta. *23 May 1910: The line was extended westbound from Villiers to Pereire. *15 February 1911: The line was extended from Pereire to Porte de Champerret. *27 November 1921: The line was extended eastbound from Gambetta to Porte des Lilas. *24 September 1937: The line was extended from Porte de Champerret to Pont de Levallois. *1967: Line 3 was the first Métro line to receive new
MF 67 The MF 67 (; ) is a fleet of steel-wheel electric multiple unit trains for the Paris Métro. The first MF 67 trains entered service on Paris Métro Line 3, Line 3 in June 1968, and became one of the biggest orders for the Métro, with ...
rolling stock. It still uses this stock which was refurbished in the 2000s. *23 August 1969: Gambetta station is remodelled, absorbing nearby Martin Nadaud station. *23 March 1971: The branch between Gambetta and Porte des Lilas was separated from the line to become the independent Line 3bis. *2 April 1971: The line was extended from Gambetta to Gallieni.


A second east–west axis

The infrastructure works for Line 3 were auctioned off in six sections on 24 May 1902. The concession was granted to the CMP by the municipal government of Paris on 13 March 1903, but the declaration of public utility was only granted on 26 February 1907. The works were rendered difficult due to the necessary displacement of existing underground infrastructure such as water, gas, and electricity lines, but also because the Line 3 was to cross a number of Métro lines, particularly at Opéra, where a special pit was built to house the intersection of Lines 3, 7, and 8. This masonry pit was and constructed fully so as to avoid any problems when building subsequent lines. Since the work was situated at the water table, it required concrete pillars made by sinking caissons with compressed air. The work lasted eleven months, from March 1903 to February 1904. Another difficult point of construction was the crossing of the
Canal Saint-Martin The Canal Saint-Martin () is a 4.6 km (2.86 mi) long canal in Paris, connecting the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine. Nearly half its length (), between the Rue du Faubourg du Temple and the Place de la Bastille, was covered in the mid- ...
. To build underneath it, the canal was dried and its vault suspended. In the area of the Place Gambetta, because of the instability of the subsoil, which consisted of waterlogged sand balls, made it necessary to drain the soil, a very delicate operation considering the number of buildings that could be destabilised. Then the side walls were built from masonry shafts that are dark from the outside.


Future plans

Although no funded plans for an extension of Line 3 currently exist, Line 3bis may be merged with Line 7bis to form a new line, possibly named Line 20, which Line 3 would then connect to. A western extension of Line 3 to has also been proposed.


Map and stations


Renamed stations

*15 October 1907: Rue St-Denis renamed Réaumur-Sébastopol. *1926: Caumartin renamed Havre-Caumartin *1 May 1946: Vallier renamed Louise Michel in honour of the leader of the "''
La Commune LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Ange ...
''". *September 1998: Saint-Maur is renamed Rue Saint-Maur in order to avoid confusion with the suburb of Saint-Maur-les-Fossées.


Facts

*Due to connections with other adjacent stations, it is possible to walk between three stations on the line without heading to the surface. This is done by starting at Saint-Lazare (Métro 3, 12, 13 and 14), then transferring to Hausmann Saint-Lazare station (RER E), from there going to Havre – Caumartin (Métro 3 and 9) then connecting to Auber (RER A) and finally walking from there to Opéra (Métro 3, 7 and 8). The journey can also be made the other way round (Opéra to Saint-Lazare) *The line was the first to receive the MF 67 trains back in 1967 and will be the last one to retire them (to be fully replaced around 2033). In fact, Line 3 hasn’t changed its rolling stock for more than 50 years, more than any other line in the system and by time of its retirement, the MF 67 trains will be serving the line continuously for 65 years, rivaling the longevity of the Sprague-Thomson trains which ran from 1908 to the late 70s particularly on lines 2 and 5.


Tourism

Line 3 passes near several places of interest : * St-Lazare railway station. *The
Opera Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at ...
. *The Bourse (Paris Stock Exchange). *The area of the Sentier. *Place de la République. *
Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
.


Gallery

Image:Metro Paris - Ligne 3 - station Arts et Metiers.jpg, Arts et Métiers Image:Le MF 67 C2 N° 043 à Gambetta sur la ligne 3 du métro de la RATP.jpg, Gambetta Image:Paris Metro - Ligne 3 - Pont de Levallois - Becon 01.jpg, Pont de Levallois Image:Metro - Paris - Ligne 3 - station Reaumur - Sebastopol.jpg, Réaumur–Sébastopol Image:Metro - Paris - Ligne 3 - station Saint-Lazare 01.jpg, Saint-Lazare Image:Metro Paris - Ligne 3 - station Villiers 02.jpg, Villiers


See also


External links

*
RATP official website
*
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)
*
Metro-Pole website, dedicated to Paris public transports (unofficial)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris Metro Line 3 Railway lines opened in 1904 1904 establishments in France