Paris Métro Line 1 (
French: ''Ligne 1 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 in the northwest and in the southeast. With a length of , it constitutes an important east–west transportation route within the City of Paris. Excluding
Réseau Express Régional
The (; ), commonly abbreviated RER (), is a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. It acts as a combined city-center underground rail system and suburbs-to-city-center commuter rail, similar to the Elizabe ...
(RER) commuter lines, it is the busiest line on the network with 181.2 million travellers in 2017 or 496,000 people per day on average.
The line was the network's first to open, with its inaugural section entering service in 1900. It is also the network's first line to be converted from manually driven operation to fully automated operation. Conversion, which commenced in 2007 and was completed in 2011, included new rolling stock (
MP 05) and laying of platform edge doors in all stations. The first eight MP 05 trains (501 through 508) went into passenger service on 3 November 2011, allowing the accelerated transfer of the existing
MP 89 CC stock to
Line 4;. The conversion allowed Line 1 to operate as the system's second fully automated line, after
Line 14.
A transition to fully automated services was done without major interruption to passenger traffic. The new MP 05 rolling stock was able to operate efficiently alongside the manually-driven MP 89 CC rolling stock until there were enough MP 05 to no longer facilitate the need of the MP 89. Full automation was achieved for evening services in May 2012, with an increase to weekend services by August 2012. As of 15 December 2012, Line 1 is fully automated. The remaining five MP 89 CC trains remained stored on Line 1 near the Fontenay workshops until a new garage for Line 4 was opened south of the new
Mairie de Montrouge station in February 2013. Line 1 is currently being extended to
Val de Fontenay to make a link with
Paris Metro Line 15
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
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 the city and suburbs of Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List o ...
,
RER E
RER E 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 and its suburbs. The line travels between western and eastern suburbs, with all ...
and an extension of Tram 1.
History
The Parisian metropolitan rail network has its origins in several decades of debate, more or less bizarre projects and tug of war between the State (which was favourable to the interconnection of large rail networks with large undergrounds) and the administration of the City of Paris (which wanted a small-scale network, serving only the inner city with very close stations, effectively prohibiting access to the rolling stock of the large railway companies). The deterioration of traffic conditions in Paris, the example of foreign capitals and the approach of the
1900 Universal Exhibition convinced the authorities to start construction of the metro. The solution proposed by the Mayor of Paris was finally adopted; the State conceded the design and construction of the work to the City of Paris. After the adoption by the municipal council on 20 April 1896 of the network project of
Fulgence Bienvenüe
Fulgence Bienvenüe (; 27 January 1852 – 3 August 1936) was a French civil engineer, best known for his role in the construction of the Paris Métro, and has been called "Le Père du Métro" (Father of the Metro).
A native of Uzel in Britta ...
and
Edmond Huet, the "metropolitan railway" was declared a public utility by a law that became effective 30 March 1898.
This
"railway of local interest" with electric traction, with a reduced
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...
of wide and
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
, intended for the transport of passengers and their hand luggage, includes six lines:
*A:
Porte de Vincennes –
Porte Dauphine
Porte Dauphine () is the western terminus of Line 2 of the Paris Métro. It is situated in the 16th arrondissement. Avenue Foch station, served by the RER C line, is located nearby, as is Paris Dauphine University.
Location
The station is es ...
;
*B: Circular, by the old outer boulevards (
Étoile –
Nation
A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
– Étoile);
*C:
Porte Maillot –
Ménilmontant
Ménilmontant () is a neighbourhood of Paris, situated in the city's 20th arrondissement. It is roughly defined as the area north of the Père Lachaise Cemetery, south of Parc de Belleville, and between ''Avenue Jean-Aicard'' on the west an ...
;
*D:
Porte de Clignancourt
Porte de Clignancourt () is a station of the Paris Métro, the northern terminus of line 4, situated in the 18th Arrondissement.
Location
The station is located under Boulevard Ornano at the Porte de Clignancourt.
History
The station was op ...
–
Porte d'Orléans
The Porte d'Orléans is one of 17 ''portes'' ( city gates of Paris) in the Thiers wall, a defensive wall constructed in the mid-nineteenth century to protect Paris. The wall was demolished after the First World War, creating an open space that ...
;
*E:
Boulevard de Strasbourg
The Boulevard de Strasbourg () is a major thoroughfare in Paris, France. Located in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, 10th arrondissement, it begins at 7 Boulevard Saint-Denis and ends at 7 Rue du 8-Mai-1945. It extends the Boulevard de Sebasto ...
(
Gare de l'Est
The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris Est, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Ga ...
) –
Pont d'Austerlitz
The Pont d'Austerlitz is a bridge which crosses the Seine River in Paris, France. It owes its name to the battle of Austerlitz (1805).
Location
The bridge links the 12th arrondissement at the rue Ledru-Rollin, to the 5th and 13th arrondissements, ...
;
*F:
Cours de Vincennes –
Place d'Italie.
Three lines were planned as a possible option: Place Valhubert – Quai de Conti (on the south bank of the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
),
Place du Palais-Royal –
Place du Danube and
Auteuil –
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 ...
.
Under an agreement of 27 January 1898 between the City and the ''Compagnie générale de traction'', the network concessionaire, the company agreed to put the first three lines into service within eight years following the declaration of public utility. The first detailed traffic studies suggested swapping the termini of lines A and C: the trains on line A would terminate at Porte Maillot, constituting line 1 of the future network, while those on line C, the future
line 3, would terminate at Porte Dauphine. It then also becomes possible to send the trains on the circular line to Porte Dauphine, and this terminus is then considered to be the start of line B.
Work on line 1 began on 4 October 1898, as part of an agreement between the Paris administration and the
Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris
The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris S.A. (Paris Metropolitan Railway Company Ltd.), or CMP, was a subsidiary of the Empain group that is the forerunner of the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens, RATP, the company managing ...
(CMP), which stipulated that the city would build the network infrastructure (tunnels, stations), with the concessionaire building the superstructure (tracks and access to stations).
From November 1898, the Paris administration began preparatory work for the construction of the first line of the metropolitan railway: construction of service tunnels between the line and the Seine for the evacuation of spoil, relocation of the collector sewer on the
Rue de Rivoli
The Rue de Rivoli (; English: "Rivoli Street") is a street in central Paris, France. It is a commercial street whose shops include leading fashionable brands. It bears the name of Napoleon's early victory against the Austrian army, at the Battle o ...
, and rearrangement of the water pipes. The work on the line itself was carried out in record time: it lasted twenty months and was led by
Fulgence Bienvenüe
Fulgence Bienvenüe (; 27 January 1852 – 3 August 1936) was a French civil engineer, best known for his role in the construction of the Paris Métro, and has been called "Le Père du Métro" (Father of the Metro).
A native of Uzel in Britta ...
, a
bridges and roads engineer, and financed by the city of Paris. The line was divided into eleven lots divided between several companies. Eleven
shields
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...
(a type of
tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
) were built for this work and installed under the roadways, with which approximately of tunnel were dug, including more than by the three Champigneul shields which dug from the Place de la Nation (in both directions) and that of the Porte Maillot. In order to reduce the duration of the construction site, however, the construction also made extensive use of traditional methods of galleries supported by
pit prop
A pit prop or mine prop (British and American usage, respectively) is a length of lumber used to prop up the roofs of tunnels in coal mines.
Canada traditionally supplied pit props to the British market. As coal mining declined in importance and ...
s.
Cut and cover
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
work was only used for the construction of certain stations and a very small section of tunnel.
On 15 June 1900, Line 1 was handed over by the Paris administration to its operator, ''la Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris'' (the Paris Metropolitan Railway Company), which ran its trains to test the line and train personnel.
Commissioning

On 19 July 1900 at 1 p.m., the line was opened to the public between and to connect the various sites of the
Universal Exhibition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
and serve the events of the
1900 Olympic Games in the
Bois de Vincennes
The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, France, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III.
The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of ...
. It followed the monumental west-east axis in Paris. The line was inaugurated in a very discreet manner, because the ''Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris'' wanted a gradual increase in capacity. Only eight stations were completed and opened at the inauguration, while the other ten were gradually opened between 6 August and 1 September 1900. These eighteen stations were entirely built under the supervision of the engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe. Most of them were long and their platforms were wide. The external entrance canopies (or
edicules) were designed by the emblematic architect of
art nouveau
Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
,
Hector Guimard
Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building i ...
.
left, upThe generators of the CMP Bercy power station, commissioned in March 1901.
Electricity was supplied, from March 1901, by the large power station that the CMP had built in the
Bercy
Bercy () is a neighbourhood in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France, the city's 47th administrative neighbourhood.
History
Some of the oldest vestiges of human occupation in Paris were found on the territory of Bercy, dating from the late N ...
district, behind its administration building on the Quai de Bercy, where the RATP house, the company's headquarters, was now located. This plant supplied
three-phase current at 5,000 volts 25 hertz, with its eighteen boilers with a heating surface of and its three 1,500 kW generator sets. Before the Bercy plant was commissioned, electricity was supplied by the companies ''Le Triphasé'' (
Asnières-sur-Seine
Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...
) and the ''Compagnie générale de traction'' (Moulineaux).
Parisians were immediately won over by this new means of transport, which allowed substantial time savings in conditions of better comfort than the forms of transport available on the surface. It was soon necessary to increase the frequency and length of the trains. Initially, operations began with a train every ten minutes, then every six minutes at peak times. At the end of January 1901, the frequency increased to one train every three minutes, in order to better meet the high demand, without however ending congestion, which reached four million cumulative passengers on 11 December 1900, or 130,000 per day.
The original trains had three cars, later increased to four, forming trains long. They therefore only occupied half of the station platforms, which were long. These all-wooden cars had only two single-leaf doors per side and the trains ran on axles, rather than
bogie
A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
s. The lengthening of the trains, which was easy to implement, was agreed, with the gradual replacement of the
M1 motor cars and their -metre trailers by "
Thomson-double" railcars and new trailers. The latter were equipped with double-leaf doors, improving the flow of passengers at the station. The composition of the trains reached six, seven and finally eight cars in 1902, with two motor cars flanking six trailers.

In 1905, the first trailers with axles disappeared completely and gave way to trains composed of seven cars, reduced to six cars in April 1906 with three motor cars flanking three short bogie trailers. In 1908, the equipment was modified again: new long cars of the Sprague-Thomson 500 class appeared. Their introduction on the line was possible thanks to the slight relocation of Bastille station with curves of a larger radius allowing the passage of longer cars. The sets increased to five cars, with three motor cars and two trailers.
Nevertheless, the continuous increase in traffic highlighted the lack of capacity of the rolling stock: a new class of trains appeared during the 1920s, with even longer cars, long, and engines with "small boxes", leaving more space for passengers. The five-car trains only had two engines for three trailers.
Extensions to the suburbs
On 24 March 1934, a first extension to the suburbs was put into service to the east to , leading to the abandonment of the return loop at Porte de Vincennes.

After the completion of the first three metro extensions outside the city of Paris to Vincennes,
Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...
and
Issy-les-Moulineaux
Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...
in 1934, the
general council of the
Seine department decided to build four new extensions, including a western extension of line 1 to .
The extension to the Pont de Neuilly faced several difficulties: the terminal loop at Porte Maillot station had been built in 1900 at a shallow depth, at approximately the same level as the
Petite Ceinture line. It was therefore essential to reroute the line at the start of the return loop in order to lower the tunnel below the Petite Ceinture and to build a new Porte Maillot station. This work, undertaken in 1935, located within the
old city walls, was the responsibility of the Paris city hall. The temporary terminus at Porte Maillot had four tracks divided into two ordinary stations with side platforms: the depth of the tunnel ruled out the construction of a single vaulted terminus of the type used at
Porte de Charenton station. The old loop was thus abandoned and the line extended to the new terminus at Porte Maillot on 15 November 1936.
Beyond this section, the work was taken over by the Seine department: the tunnel was built under the Avenue de Neuilly. Originally planned with three stations, the extension ultimately only had two, including the terminus of . The latter, with only two tracks, was designed as a temporary terminus, because it was then planned to extend the line to La Défense with an under-river crossing of the Seine. This "provisional" station, which lasted more than fifty years, would be the cause of numerous operating problems twenty or thirty years later. The work on line 1 was actively carried out in order to be completed before the
1937 World's Fair. The line was opened for operation to Pont de Neuilly on 29 April 1937.
The pneumatic metro and the creation of the RER
During the Second World War, and for the next two decades, Line 1, the busiest on the network, saw its ridership increase to the point of reaching significant overloads (up to 135% of its capacity), which degraded operation and transport conditions. Given the success of the experiment with pneumatic-tyred metro operations on
Line 11, it was decided to equip Line 1 with this type of equipment in order to increase its capacity by 15 to 20% or more, as the pneumatic-tyred equipment could achieve greater acceleration and deceleration, which increased the commercial speed and rotation of rolling stock. Work began at the end of 1960, but, taking into account the experience of Line 11, the tire tracks were built of metal between stations and of concrete in stations. The new operation of Line 1 began on 30 May 1963. The line was equipped with MP 59 rolling stock from May 1963 to December 1964, replacing the grey Sprague trains. In April 1972, line 1 was the third on the network (after line 11 and
Line 4) to be equipped with ''Grecque''
electronic automatic piloting equipment.
This increase in capacity being insufficient pending the opening of the large-gauge east-west regional line then under construction, it was also decided to increase the number of cars from five to six and the length of the platforms accordingly to . Some less frequented stations were lengthened by the construction of "crypts", the ceiling of which rest on very closely-spaced pillars.
However, this development alone was not enough to cope with the constant growth of traffic on the east-west axis. The SDAURP (''Schéma directeur d'aménagement et d'urbanisme de la région parisienne'', "Master plan for development and urban planning of the Paris region"), published in 1965 under the leadership of Prefect
Paul Delouvrier
Paul Delouvrier (; 25 June 1914 – 16 January 1995) was a French administrator and economist. He was awarded the Erasmus Prize in 1985, a year when the theme for the award was Urban Development.
Biography
Paul Delouvrier was born in Remirem ...
, provided for the creation of a large-gauge regional rail transport network on the scale of the urban area. This highly ambitious plan, already outlined in the 1920s, provided for the priority creation of a major east-west axis, to support regional growth, serve the new business district of
La Défense
La Défense () is a major business district in France's Paris metropolitan area, west of the city limits. It is located in Île-de-France region's Departments of France, department of Hauts-de-Seine in the Communes of France, communes of Courbe ...
and relieve some of the traffic on metro Line 1 and
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 ...
, then the busiest in France.
The work on the new east-west line also caused an incident on line 1: on the Étoile side, the tunnel of the new link was attacked by an American Robbins
tunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
, delivered in June 1964. Tunnelling began in March 1965 and proved to be fast, but while drilling under the
Avenue de la Grande-Armée
Avenue or Avenues may refer to:
Roads
* Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees)
* Avenue Road, Bangalore
* Avenue Road, Lo ...
and under metro line 1, the tunnel foundation collapsed on 18 March due to decompression of the ground. Metro train traffic was interrupted for four days so that the infrastructure could be repaired.
The new line was put into service in sections: first, – at the end of 1969, then –
Étoile shuttle in 1970, the extension of the latter to in 1971, the integration of the
Nanterre
Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807.
The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...
– section in 1972. Then, finally, it was the extension to and the opening of the central Auber – Nation section that completed the
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 the city and suburbs of Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List o ...
line on 9 December 1977 after five more years of monumental works in the heart of Paris. From the first months of 1978, the transfer of traffic to the new line A was significant: several lines of the urban metro recorded a drop in ridership, line 1, which had been doubled over most of its route, saw its traffic decrease by 25%, which finally made it possible to achieve more reasonable loading during peak hours.
The metro at La Défense and the creation of line 14
The extension planned since the 1930s was finally completed to La Défense 1 April 1992. However, unlike the original project, the river was crossed, not by a new under-river crossing, but in the middle of the Pont de Neuilly, in order to significantly reduce construction costs and because of the presence of the RER line A tunnel, built during the 1960s. This modification required the complete reconstruction of the rear of the Pont de Neuilly station. The bridge itself was widened by the construction of new cantilevered sidewalks over the Seine, in order to free up sufficient space for the metro in its middle. The land reserved twenty years earlier by ''L'Établissement public pour l'aménagement de la région de la Défense'' (Public Establishment for the Development of the La Défense Region, EPAD) for the extension, including in particular the ''La Défense - Michelet'' and ''Élysées - La Défense'' stations, therefore remained unused in favour of a passage via what was to be one of the two tubes of the
A14 autoroute (which passes through a tunnel under La Défense).
Ironically, the considerable success of RER line A, which quickly became the busiest transport line in France, led to its rapid saturation, with 272.8 million passengers in 2004. In order to limit the overload, the Council of Ministers decided in October 1989 to create a new RER line,
EOLE, and a new fully automatic metro line which opened in October 1998 under the name
metro line 14. Despite its very rapid increase in capacity (19 million passengers in 1999, 64.1 million in 2004), it did not reduce the constant increase in traffic on metro line 1, nor on RER line A, which has always been on the verge of saturation.
Automation
After successfully opening Line 14 as a fully automated line, the RATP began to explore the possibility of automating existing lines on the system. The agency first focused on Line 1, since it is the busiest of all of the Paris subway lines, and also the line most frequented by tourists. Automation not only allowed Paris to remain as a model for technological innovations in the railway industry but also increases the number of lines in normal service when RATP workers are striking (
MP 05 rolling stock). This was shown when the transport union engaged in industrial action in September 2019 without affecting service on Line 1.
Work began in 2007 and was largely carried out without interrupting passenger traffic. Preliminary work involved electrical and signaling upgrades throughout the entire line. Work also commenced on converting the original Porte Maillot station (also known as "Espace Maillot") into a light maintenance facility for the MP 05 rolling stock. In 2009, work commenced on installing platform screen doors; with Bérault and Porte Maillot being the first stations to be equipped. Due to its curved platform, Bastille (in 2011) was among the last stations to be equipped. During this time, individual stations were intermittently closed to allow platforms to be leveled with the height of the train floors (from
:fr:Ligne 1 du métro de Paris).
Although most of the stations remain the same as they were prior to automation (with the exception of the platform screen doors), many stations like St. Paul, received brand new signage.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
received a complete overhaul from its post World War II facade to a more contemporary & modern look.
On 3 November 2011, the first eight trains of the new MP 05 rolling stock were put into service on Line 1. These trains ran alongside the MP 89 CC rolling stock until enough automated stock was available for passenger service. This cascading was achieved thanks to the SAET () system, which is the first version of
Siemens Transportation Systems'
Trainguard MT CBTC
Trainguard MT is a communication-based train control (CBTC) developed by Siemens Transportation Systems (ex ''Matra Transport international'', and now integrated into Siemens Mobility) which allows fully automated circulation of rapid transit trai ...
. The arrival of the new stock allowed the RATP to accelerate transfer of the MP 89 from Line 1 to Line 4 at a rate of about 2 to 3 trains per month between November 2011 and November 2012. That rate increased to 4 trains per month during November and December 2012.
Major milestones were reached in May and July 2012 as full automation reached sufficient levels by which the MP 89 were no longer needed during late evenings and weekends respectively. For the ''
Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche () (White Night) is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the ...
'' during October 2012, Line 1 also operated in full automation. The final milestone was reached on 15 December 2012, as full automation of Line 1 approached 100%, allowing the remaining MP 89 trains to be pulled from regular service on 21 December 2012. Due to insufficient storage space on Line 4, the remaining 6 to 7 MP 89 trains remained stored on the Line 1 tracks near Fontenay until a new garage in the Montrouge area opened. That opening was tentatively set for February/March 2013 and will coincide with the opening of the new Mairie de Montrouge station opening on Line 4. Since 16 February 2013, a year later than what was planned in 2010, the line has been fully automated. The final adjustments were completed on Sunday, 28 July 2013. It thus became one of the first lines in the world transformed into a full automatic line and not designed as such from the start.
On 22 January 2016, at around 5 p.m., all of the trains on Line 1 came to a standstill due to a computer malfunction. Most of them were in the stations, but sixteen of them, stuck in the tunnel, had to be evacuated with the help of agents who have come to “free” the travelers. Traffic resumed only in the next morning. This breakdown, described as historic by the RATP, is the consequence of a bug that occurred in the automatic pilot system which has been fitted in line 1 since 2013.
Chronology
* 20 April 1896: the Paris City Council adopts the Fulgence Bienvenüe network project.
* 30 March 1898: declaration of public utility of the first six lines of the "metropolitan railway".
* 4 October 1898: launch of works of Line 1.
* 19 July 1900: Inauguration of Line 1 between
Porte de Vincennes and
Porte Maillot. Only 8 of the 18 planned stations were opened.
* 6 August and 1 September 1900: The other 10 stations of the line opened.
* 24 March 1934: The line was extended to the east from Porte de Vincennes to Château de Vincennes.
* 15 November 1936: Porte Maillot station was rebuilt in order to allow a further extension of the line to the west.
* 29 April 1937: The line was extended to the west from Porte Maillot to Pont de Neuilly.
* 1963: The rails were converted in order to accommodate rubber-tyred trains (the MP 59). At the same time, stations were enlarged in order to accommodate 6-car trains instead of 5-car trains.
* 1 April 1992: The line was extended again to the west from Pont de Neuilly to La Défense business district.
* 1997:
MP 89 CC rolling stock was introduced, replacing the older
MP 59 stock.
* 2007: Automation project commenced.
* 3 November 2011: Cascading of MP 89CC to
MP 05 stock began, as the automation project (construction) was completed.
* May 2012: Full automation is achieved for evening services.
* July 2012: Full automation is achieved for weekend services.
* 15 December 2012: Full automation reaches 100% status, allowing the MP 89CC to no longer be needed on Line 1.
Rolling stock
Line 1 has had five different types of rolling stock throughout the years:
*
M1 (Westinghouse): 1900–1921
*
Sprague-Thomson: 1913–1964
*
MP 59: 1963–1998
*
MP 89CC: 1997–2012
*
MP 05: 2011–present
Future
A western extension of Line 1 from
La Défense
La Défense () is a major business district in France's Paris metropolitan area, west of the city limits. It is located in Île-de-France region's Departments of France, department of Hauts-de-Seine in the Communes of France, communes of Courbe ...
station to the center of
Nanterre
Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807.
The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...
is being considered. Another proposal being investigated would have a new station constructed at Fontenay – Rigollots, just before the line climbs to the surface to enter Fontenay shops, and then continue eastward to
Val de Fontenay to connect with
RER lines
A and
E.
Map
Stations
Renamed stations
* The
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
station renamings were made after the entrance to the museum was moved following construction of the
Louvre Pyramid
The Louvre Pyramid () is a large glass-and-metal entrance way and skylight designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three smaller pyr ...
.
Tourism
Line 1 passes near several places of interest:
*
La Défense
La Défense () is a major business district in France's Paris metropolitan area, west of the city limits. It is located in Île-de-France region's Departments of France, department of Hauts-de-Seine in the Communes of France, communes of Courbe ...
high-rise business district, where the most prominent landmark is the
Grande Arche
La Grande Arche de la Défense (; "The Great Arch of the Defense"), originally called La Grande Arche de la Fraternité (; "Fraternity"), is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west ...
. The
La Défense Arena, home of the
Racing 92
Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...
rugby union club and host venue for the
2024 Summer Olympics
The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
, is nearby.
* The
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...
at Charles de Gaulle-Étoile. A 289 step staircase is open to the public and leads to the top of the Arch. There is also a museum on the top floor.
* The
Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a famous shopping street.
* The
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
It was the s ...
, dominated by
the Obelisk,
Tuileries Garden
The Tuileries Garden (, ) is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in ...
and
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
.
*
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
station has replicas of works of art from the museum and has historical information. The station's benches are made of glass and the Western portal has Roman-inspired arches along the platform edge.
* The
Hôtel de Ville (Paris City Hall) and the
Marais
Marais (, meaning "marsh") may refer to:
People
* Marais (given name)
* Marais (surname)
Other uses
* Le Marais, historic district of Paris
* Théâtre du Marais, the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France
* Marais (com ...
district.
*
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
and the nearby
Opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
.
*
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris Gare de Lyon (), is one of the seven 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 ...
train station.
* The
Place de la Nation.
* The
Bois de Vincennes
The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, France, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III.
The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of ...
(Vincennes Wood) and
Paris Zoological Park
The Paris Zoological Park (), formerly known as the Bois de Vincennes Zoological Park (), and commonly called the Vincennes Zoo, is a facility of the National Museum of Natural History, located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, which covers ...
(Vincennes Zoo).
* The
Château de Vincennes
The Château de Vincennes () is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. It was largely built between 1361 and 1369, and was a preferred residence, after ...
. A medieval castle to the east of Paris.
Gallery
Image:Station de la Bastille Ligne 1 - Quais 02-03-06.jpg, Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
station
Image:M1-Champs élysées.jpg, Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau
Image:Ligne-1-Gare-de-Lyon-3.jpg, Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris Gare de Lyon (), is one of the seven 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 ...
Image:Metro-Paris-rame-MP89-ligne.jpg, Hôtel de Ville
Image:Le MP 89 CC n° 49 à Nation sur la ligne 1 du métro de la RATP.JPG, Nation
A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
Image:Station-Pont-de-Neuilly.jpg, Pont de Neuilly
Image:MP 89.ogg, MP 89 at Pont de Neuilly
File:MP05 Chateau de Vincennes.JPG, MP 05 at Château de Vincennes
File:Métro de Paris, station Bastille, ligne 1 02 stabilisé.ogg, MP 89 CC at Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
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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)*
Metro-Pole website, dedicated to Paris public transports (unofficial)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris Metro Line 1
1900 establishments in France
Articles containing video clips
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People mover systems in France
Railway lines opened in 1900