Paris Métro Line 2 (
French: ''Ligne 2 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 ...
. Situated almost entirely above the former
customs barrier around the capital (''Boulevards extérieurs''), it runs in a semicircle in the north of Paris.
As its name suggests, Line 2 was the second line of the Métro network to open, with the first section put into service on 13 December 1900; it adopted its current configuration on 2 April 1903, running between
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 ...
and
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 ...
. There have been no changes in its layout since then.
At in length,
[ it is the ninth-busiest line of the system, with 105.2 million riders in 2017. Slightly over of the line is built on an elevated viaduct with four aerial stations. In 1903, it was the location of the worst incident in the history of the Paris Métro, the fire at Couronnes.
]
History
Chronology
*13 December 1900: The first portion of Line 2 Nord was opened between Porte Dauphine and Étoile.short circuit
A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...
on a train caused a disastrous fire that killed 84 people at Couronnes and Ménilmontant stations.
*14 October 1907: Line 2 Nord was renamed Line 2.[
]
Works
On 30 March 1898 a ''déclaration d'utilité publique A ''déclaration d'utilité publique'' (), or declaration of public utility, is a formal recognition in French law that a proposed project has public benefits. The declaration must be obtained for many large construction projects in France or its ol ...
'' was published, recognising the public benefit of the first six planned lines of the Paris Métro. In response, the city began rapidly constructing the first line in hopes of opening it in time for the 1900 World's Fair. During the first stage of development, three lines designated A, B, and C were planned for construction:
*A: from Porte de Vincennes to Porte Dauphine.
*B: circular route along the old city walls.
*C: from Porte Maillot to Menilmontant, using line B tracks from Étoile to Batignolles.
However, after a detailed traffic study was conducted, changes were proposed to the tracks lying west of Étoile: the segment from Étoile to Porte Maillot of Line C would be integrated into Line A; Line C would pick up the segment from Étoile to Porte Dauphine. This change allowed trains on Line B to stop at Porte Dauphine. Porte Dauphine was thus designated the terminus and origin of Line B.
Shortly thereafter, Line B was split into two lines in hopes of simplifying its use. The section from Porte Dauphine to Nation was designated as Line 2 North; the remaining section from Nation to Étoile was designated Line 2 South. Line 2 South would eventually become Line 6.
The first section of Line 2 was constructed at the same time as Line 1, opening only a little later on 3 December 1900. This section consisted of three stations (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 ...
, Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
and Étoile) and was circulated by rolling stock consisting of three cars each. At Étoile, trains reversed direction via a track transfer (due to it serving as only a temporary terminus), while at Porte Dauphine and Nation direction was reversed using a turnaround loop.
Map and stations
This line counts 25 stations.
Renamed stations
Tourism
*The elevated line between Barbès – Rochechouart and Jaurès stations offers views of Paris.
*Metro line 2 passes near several places of interest :
**Avenue Foch
The Avenue Foch () is an avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, named after World War I Marshal Ferdinand Foch in 1929. It was previously known as the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. It is one of the most prestigious streets in Paris, a ...
, which is the largest avenue in Paris, and 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 ...
.
**Parc Monceau.
** Pigalle and the Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...
.
**Barbès and Belleville and their African and Asian influences.
**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 ...
.
**Place de la Nation.
Gallery
Image:Metro-Paris-Ligne-2-station.jpg, Barbès – Rochechouart
Image:Metro Paris - Ligne 2 - station Etoile 01.jpg, Charles de Gaulle–Étoile
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
Image:Station Monceau Ligne 2 - Quais 02-03-06.jpg, Monceau
Image:Rame-MF2000-en-stationnement.jpg, New MF 2000 train used on the route
Image:Interieur-rame-MF2000.jpg, Interior of an MF 2000
Image:MF2000-ASVA ligne 2.JPG, Dynamic destination display
Image:MF 67 ligne 2 Etoile 01.ogg, MF 67 leaving Charles De Gaulle–Étoile
Image:Paris - Le metro montant boulevard de la Villette.jpg, A metro car departing from Jaurès along the Boulevard de la Villette
See also
References
External links
English
RATP English website
Interactive Map of the RER (from RATP's website)
Interactive Map of the Paris métro (from RATP's website)
French
RATP official website
Mobidf website, dedicated to the RER (unofficial)
Metro-Pole website, dedicated to Paris public transports (unofficial)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris Metro Line 2
Articles containing video clips
Railway lines opened in 1900
1900 establishments in France