RER D is one of the five lines in the (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
and
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
system serving
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from north to south, with all trains serving a group of stations in central Paris, before branching out towards the ends of the line.
The line connects
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging ...
in the north to
Melun
Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Ma ...
and
Malesherbes in the south, passing through the heart of Paris. Line D also links
Gare du Nord with
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...
via
Châtelet-Les Halles.
Opened in stages from 1987 to 1996, it is the longest RER line by distance, and the busiest
SNCF line in France, carrying up to 615,000 passengers and operating 466 trains each working day.
Almost all of the line is located in the
Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
region, that is, within the jurisdiction of the
Île-de-France Mobilités
Île-de-France Mobilités (ÎDF Mobilités), formerly ''STIF'', is the brand name of the ''Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France'', the organisation authority that controls and coordinates the different transport companies operating in the ...
, but some of the branch lines at the north and south of the line are outside the region.
Due to a high rate of incidents, social issues and poor on time performance, the line is sometimes colloquially known as the ('trash line').
Chronology
* 27 September 1987: Inauguration of Line D. Operated
Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel is a Communes of France, commune in the France, French Departments of France, department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris.
History
A tragedy occurred in the ...
– Gare du Nord –
Châtelet-Les Halles, , using the Line B Tunnel to Châtelet–Les Halles
* 1988: Extension north towards
Goussainville.
* September 1990: Extension north towards
Orry-la-Ville
Orry-la-Ville () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Orry-la-Ville-Coye station has rail connections to Amiens, Creil, Compiègne and Paris.
See also
* Communes of the Oise department
The following is a list of the 679 comm ...
.
* September 1995: Inauguration of "Interconnexion Sud-Est". The line is extended from Châtelet to
Melun
Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Ma ...
and
La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is south of Paris. It used to be a fortress closing the access to the French royal estate from the Essonne valley, then became an industrial vill ...
then
Malesherbes (the following year, 1996) in the south of Paris.
* 25 January 1998: New station,
Stade de France – Saint-Denis, opened. Located between Gare du Nord and St-Denis.
* 29 January 2007: First renovated
Z 20500
The SNCF Class Z 20500 is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that are operated by SNCF on the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system and the Transilien, a suburban commute ...
stock in service.
* 19 March 2008: Start of the "D Maintenant" programme by
Guillaume Pepy
Guillaume Pepy (born 26 May 1958) is a high-ranking French civil servant who currently serves as president of the SNCF, the French national rail authority. He is also Chairman of Eurostar and Deputy-Chairman of the Keolis Group.
President Nicolas ...
, the president of
SNCF.
* 14 December 2008: Reduced "Interconnexion Nord-Sud" service, with 8 interconnected trains per hour.
* Late 2009: End of the "D Maintenant" programme.
* 7 December 2011: Start of studies for the doubling of the Châtelet-Gare du Nord tunnel.
* 15 December 2013: New station,
Créteil-Pompadour, opened and replaced
Villeneuve-Prairie.
History
Conception
Initially, the "métro régional", the ancestor to the RER, was conceived of three lines, one going from east to west (the future
RER A
RER A is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from east to west, with all t ...
), a new line built from existing lines (the future
RER C
RER C is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from north to south.
The li ...
), the extension of the
Ligne de Sceaux
The Ligne de Sceaux (Sceaux Line) was a railway line in France running from Paris, which initially linked the Place Denfert-Rochereau (then called the ''Place d'Enfer'', in Paris, to the town of Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, Sceaux.
The line originally ...
and with its interconnection with an
SNCF line, along with a supplementary interconnected north–south (the future RER D). The operation of renovating "les Halles" gave the occasion to build
Châtelet-Les Halles with a
cut-and-cover
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...
method, in order to reduce costs.
[Jean Robert, Notre métro, p. 386]
![Gare de Lyon cCRW 1262](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Gare_de_Lyon_cCRW_1262.jpg)
Initially the new RER D was meant to share tracks with the RER A between
Paris-Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and R ...
and
Châtelet-Les Halles. But
RATP, the company who runs the RER A, objected to such an operation as the number of passengers using the RER A was growing and required running extra trains on the RER A. It was decided instead that each line should have its own platforms, with RER A at the
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER D ...
having its tracks at a lower level of the underground station and the future RER D on the upper level. The RER D at the
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...
has four tracks and, being above the RER A tracks, this allows "platform to platform" transfers vertically, a Japanese invention.
Inauguration
On 27 September 1987, the RER D was officially created, by extending existing suburban trains from
Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel is a Communes of France, commune in the France, French Departments of France, department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris.
History
A tragedy occurred in the ...
to
Gare du Nord, towards
Châtelet-Les Halles. Initially long, it was equipped with bi-current Z 8800 stock trains, while newer
Z 20500
The SNCF Class Z 20500 is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that are operated by SNCF on the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system and the Transilien, a suburban commute ...
stock trains were still being built. At Châtelet-Les Halles, the RER D terminated on the three central tracks, already built from the conception of
Châtelet-Les Halles station.
[http://cheminet.free.fr/idf_rer_d_e.php ]
In 1988, existing suburban trains terminating at
Goussainville now integrate with the RER D. On the same year, the first bi-mode
Z 20500
The SNCF Class Z 20500 is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that are operated by SNCF on the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system and the Transilien, a suburban commute ...
trains are in service. They were initially composed of 4 cars until the north–south interconnection was inaugurated in 1995, when they became 5-car trains (where they're coupled to make 10-car trains).
In September 1990, the RER D again extended north to
Orry-la-Ville
Orry-la-Ville () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Orry-la-Ville-Coye station has rail connections to Amiens, Creil, Compiègne and Paris.
See also
* Communes of the Oise department
The following is a list of the 679 comm ...
. At the same time,
one-man operation
One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to Driver Controlled Operation, is operation of a train, bus, ...
started on the RER D.
Central tunnel opening
On 11 September 1995, the north–south interconnection of the RER D was put into service by building a dedicated long tunnel between
Châtelet-Les Halles and the
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...
.
In 1996, the RER D was extended south from
La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is south of Paris. It used to be a fortress closing the access to the French royal estate from the Essonne valley, then became an industrial vill ...
to
Malesherbes.
On 15 January 1998 for the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
,
Stade de France – Saint-Denis station opened, in order to serve the
Stade de France
The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...
.
A high number of incidents, from a social and service point of view, have brought the term "RER poubelle" ("RER trash" in French), often used by its users, and even its staff.
[''Le Journal du Dimanche'' - Comment améliorer le "RER poubelle", article d'Antoine Debièvre du 12.02.2006](_blank)
Assaults are frequent and unpunctuality is the highest in the
Transilien
Transilien () is the brand name given to the commuter rail network serving Île-de-France, the region surrounding and including the city of Paris. The network consists of eight lines: Transilien Line H, H, Transilien Line J, J, Transilien Line ...
network, with the number of late trains going from 9.9% to 14.1% between 1994 and 1995.
Enhancements
![RER D - Gare Corbeil 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/RER_D_-_Gare_Corbeil_5.JPG)
On 22 November 2006 the
STIF approved a master plan for the RER D in order to establish short, mid and long-term goals for its reliability.
On 29 January 2007, the first renovated
Z 20500
The SNCF Class Z 20500 is a double-deck, dual-voltage electric multiple unit trainset that are operated by SNCF on the Réseau Express Régional (RER), a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system and the Transilien, a suburban commute ...
train was presented, the first of 137 trains. Renovated trains feature a new blue livery, uniform 2+3 seats, new lighting and new floor covering. The renovation programme cost over €100 million.
Delays
![ManifSADURYerres](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/ManifSADURYerres.jpg)
The RER D is often seen in Paris as the most unpunctual railway line in the RER network. This unpunctuality is partially due to the tunnel the
RER B
RER B is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its Île-de-France suburbs. The RER B line crosses the region from no ...
and RER D lines share between
Châtelet–Les Halles
Châtelet–Les Halles () is a major train hub in Paris and one of the largest underground stations in the world. Opened in 1977, it is the central transit hub for the Paris metropolitan area, connecting three of five RER commuter-rail lines a ...
and
Gare du Nord, where even a small delay of a few seconds on either lines can cause catastrophic delays and trains to be cancelled. The effects of this mean regular commuters of the RER D are used to trains being cancelled or late daily.
Service nomenclature
Like all other lines of the RER system, every train is assigned a four letter code, called a ''name of service'' or a ''mission code''. Train timetables,
passenger information display system
A passenger information system, or passenger information display system, is an automated system for supplying users of public transport with information about the nature and the state of a public transport service through visual, voice or other m ...
s and the front of the trains all display names of services.
New system
The first letter corresponds to the final destination, which is essentially the train's terminus.
* A:
Gare du Nord
* B:
Malesherbes
* D:
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...
(Underground)
* E:
Saint-Denis
* F:
Goussainville
* J:
Juvisy
Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located 18 km south-east of Paris, a few kilometres south of Orly Airport.
The site of the town has been o ...
* K:
Évry – Courcouronnes Centre
* L:
Orry-la-Ville-Coye
* M:
Châtelet–Les Halles
Châtelet–Les Halles () is a major train hub in Paris and one of the largest underground stations in the world. Opened in 1977, it is the central transit hub for the Paris metropolitan area, connecting three of five RER commuter-rail lines a ...
* N:
Combs-la-Ville – Quincy
* P:
Créteil-Pompadour or
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...
(Surface)
* R:
Corbeil-Essonnes
Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.
Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...
* S:
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to ...
* T:
La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is south of Paris. It used to be a fortress closing the access to the French royal estate from the Essonne valley, then became an industrial vill ...
* U:
Stade de France – Saint-Denis
* V:
Villiers-le-Bel – Gonesse – Arnouville
* X:
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. People from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges are called ''Villeneuvois'' in French.
History Prehistory and Antiquity
Vill ...
* Z:
Melun
Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilome ...
The second letter indicates the stations served by the train in the section spanning from Gare de Lyon to Villeneuve-Saint-Georges.
* A: Stops only at
Maisons-Alfort – Alfortville and Créteil-Pompadour
* I: Express between Gare de Lyon and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
* O: All stops on this section
* U: Stops only at
Maisons-Alfort – Alfortville.
The third letter indicates the branch the train takes.
* C: Branch from Gare de Lyon to Combs-la-Ville – Quincy
* P: Branch from Gare de Lyon to Corbeil-Essonnes via Évry – Courcouronnes Centre (''plateau'')
* S: Branch from Corbeil-Essonnes to Melun (''littoral'')
* V: Branch from Juvisy to Corbeil-Essonnes, or even Malesherbes or Melun, via Ris-Orangis (''valley'')
The fourth letter indicates whether the train would serve Viry-Châtillon or not, and it also indicates the direction the train is running.
* A: This train runs from the south part to the north part and stops at Viry-Châtillon.
* E: This train does not stop at Viry-Châtillon (irrespective of direction).
* O: This train runs from the north part to the south part and stops at Viry-Châtillon.
Old system
The old system used until 2008 was very different that the last letter did not indicate whether the train would serve Viry-Châtillon or not, and the first letters for Creil, Orry-la-Ville-Coye and Villeneuve-Saint-Georges were different.
First letter: destination of the train
* A:
Gare du Nord
* B:
Malesherbes
* C:
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to ...
* D:
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER ...
* F:
Goussainville
* H:
Orry-la-Ville-Coye
* J:
Juvisy
Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located 18 km south-east of Paris, a few kilometres south of Orly Airport.
The site of the town has been o ...
* M:
Châtelet–Les Halles
Châtelet–Les Halles () is a major train hub in Paris and one of the largest underground stations in the world. Opened in 1977, it is the central transit hub for the Paris metropolitan area, connecting three of five RER commuter-rail lines a ...
* N:
Combs-la-Ville – Quincy
* Q:
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges
Villeneuve-Saint-Georges () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. People from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges are called ''Villeneuvois'' in French.
History Prehistory and Antiquity
Vill ...
* R:
Corbeil-Essonnes
Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.
Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...
* T:
La Ferté-Alais
La Ferté-Alais () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is south of Paris. It used to be a fortress closing the access to the French royal estate from the Essonne valley, then became an industrial vill ...
* U:
Stade de France – Saint-Denis
* V:
Villiers-le-Bel – Gonesse – Arnouville
* Z:
Melun
Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilome ...
Third letter: the branch
* C: Branch from Gare de Lyon to Combs-la-Ville – Quincy
* P: Branch from Gare de Lyon to Corbeil-Essonnes via Évry – Courcouronnes Centre (''plateau'')
* L: Branch from Gare de Lyon to Orry-la-Ville
* S: Branch from Corbeil-Essonnes to Melun
* V: Branch from Juvisy to Corbeil-Essonnes, or even Malesherbes or Melun, via Ris-Orangis (''valley'')
Incidents
On 20 September 2003, an unusual incident occurred near
Villeneuve-Triage station. A southbound train stopped at 18:50 on the central track near the station due to an incident. Passengers aboard were invited to step off the train by the left, as track 2M has been neutralised by the regulators. However, due to a misuse of the alarm signal by nervous passengers, some doors opened on the right. Ignoring the driver's orders, numerous passengers stepped off on the right, and were confronted with a northbound train, travelling at around .
The driver of the train had the time to activate his emergency brakes and slowed the train to around , which permitted to passengers to brace against the stopped train or jump into the ditch. Thankfully, no one was injured. This near miss, filmed by a passenger with a mobile phone, was broadcast the night of the incident, and created a large controversy.
On 9 July 2004, an alleged
anti-semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
assault provoked a public and political reaction, with immediate declarations from the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac.
In his career working at the Minist ...
and the President of France
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
. However, the allegations were proven false after the investigation, as the person behind the assault suffered from
pathological lying
Pathological lying, also known as ''mythomania'' and ''pseudologia fantastica'', is a chronic behavior in which the person habitually or compulsively lies. These lies often serve no obvious purpose other than to paint oneself as a hero or vict ...
. The event provoked a controversy on the treatment of information by the media.
RFI - Antisémitisme : le doute
/ref>
See also
* List of stations of the Paris Métro
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* List of stations of the Paris RER
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
English
RATP's English-language website
RATP's interactive map of the RER
RATP's interactive map of the Paris métro
French
RATP official website
Mobidf website, dedicated to the RER (unofficial)
Metro-Pole website, dedicated to Paris public transports (unofficial)
{{Paris Rail Stations
D, RER D
Railway lines opened in 1987
1987 establishments in France