Danube () is a station 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 ...

serving Line 7bis (westbound only). It is named after Place de Danube, which was renamed ''Place Rhin-et-Danube'' in 1951 to commemorate the

1st French Army The First Army () was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. World War I On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the charge of the First Army, ...

which had during the Italian campaign between 1943 and 1945 distinguished itself during the landing of Provence, then fought on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

rivers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

Metro de Paris - Ligne 7 - Maquette viaduc souterrain station Danube

The station opened on 18 January 1911 as part of a branch of line 7 from

Louis Blanc Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc ( ; ; 29 October 1811 – 6 December 1882) was a French Socialism, socialist politician, journalist and historian. He called for the creation of cooperatives in order to job guarantee, guarantee employment for t ...

to Pré-Saint-Gervais, 18 days after the commissioning of the first section of line 7 between

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...

and Porte de la Villette due to difficulties during its construction. As the station is constructed in unstable terrain, located in a former mine where

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

was extracted for export to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

station box A station box is a term in the construction industry: It describes a box-like underground structure for a transportation system, for example a metro or tube station. Station boxes are built in two methods – "top-down" or "bottom-up". In the "bot ...

was strengthened by having separate vaults for each track, with a single shared island platform. The station box is perched more than 30 m above solid ground, with its 220 supporting columns, each 2.5 m in diameter, have a cumulative height of 5,500 m. These foundations were necessary due to the inconsistency of the ground which consisted of the former mines that had been backfilled. On 3 December 1967 this branch was separated from line 7, becoming ''line 7bis''. Initially during the planning phase, it was envisioned that it will serve as the terminus, but was then moved to

Place des Fêtes ''Nocturnes'', L 98 (also known as ''Trois Nocturnes'' or Three Nocturnes) is an Impressionist orchestral composition in three movements by the French composer Claude Debussy, who wrote it between 1892 and 1899. It is based on poems from ''Poèm ...

before finally deciding to create a one-way loop between these two stations with Pré-Saint-Gervais acting as the branch's commercial terminus. As part of the "Un métro + beau" programme by the

RATP The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under the name (). Its logo represents the Seine's meandering path th ...

, the station was renovated and modernised on 18 December 2007. In 2019, the station was used by 547,896 passengers, making it the 297th busiest of the Métro network out of 302 stations. In 2020, the station was used by 266,623 passengers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the 297th busiest of the Métro network out of 305 stations.

Passenger services

Access

The station has a single entrance at Place Rhin-et-Danube.

Station layout

Platforms

The station consists of 2 parallel half-stations linked by perpendicular cross passages with a single island platform flanked by 2 tracks. Only the southern platform is in regular use.

Other connections

The station is also served by line 75 of the RATP bus network.

Gallery

File:Entrée Station Métro Danube Place Rhin Danube - Paris XIX (FR75) - 2021-07-22 - 2.jpg, Entrance at Place Rhin-et-Danube

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danube (Paris Metro) Paris Métro line 7bis Paris Métro stations in the 19th arrondissement of Paris Railway stations in France opened in 1911