fbb, The Magenta Presenter!

Too Many Maps?

If you are desperate to read the detail, a click on a map wll allow it to expand. But the general idea is clear even if the detail is a bit too much to follow.

The above is R E R line A (eastern destinations) and then we have a multitude of western routes.

These were all suburban lines operated by SNCF with some extensions but connected by a brand new tunnel through central Paris via Chatelet Les Halles station. RER A is one of five "Crossrail" linkings in the city. The first sections of A opened in 1977 and the last new bit was available in 1994.

RER line B south of the city centre actually absorbed a Paris Metro line, but an oddity that stood apart from the rest of the standard underground routes. This was the Ligne Des Sceaux running to Robinson (the short spur on the map below).

The historic stock looked very different even from ancient Metro trains ...

... the outstanding difference being its overhead electrification.  This was merged with a longer suburban line in the south and extended cross city to the north. Again, the first section opened in 1977 and developments continued until 1994.

Line B also used new tunnels deep under the city centre with interconnection at Chatelet Les Halles. Here the station is so complex that the Paris authorities reputedly have a team of St Bernard dogs with small barrels of brandy round their necks to rescue passengers who are utterly lost and on the edge of collapse.

When fbb visited a few years ago he did not need dog or booze but came out into the fresh air and never found where he went in!

R E R line C does not call at Chatelet. It was created by joining existing lines by tunnel and cut and cover sections along the south bank of the Seine.

You may be able to spot Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel at the bottom of the extract below.

You can actually see the real world from the northern riverside platform.

Line C first turned its wheels in 1979 and the most recent extension was opened in 2006. A small prize is reputedly offered by S N C F management if you can successfully find you correct train over a period of one month's travel. As far as fbb knows, no one has yet won it!

RER line D is also a contender for confusion at Chatelet les Halles station. Its services run from the north ...

... to the south ...

... where a first class honours degree at La Sorbonne is essential for understanding the service pattern.

Its first section opened in 1987 and its final extension (so far?) was in 1996. It is both the longest of the busiest of the RER lines.

Which brings us to Eole, the name is of a Greek hero (?) a k a Aeolus. Actually there were three Aeoli, of which number three was ruler of the winds. Whether SNCF knew that when they created the acronym E O L E. (Est Ouest Liaison Express), which became simply line E, is lost to history. Maybe trains sped "like the wind"?

Hitherto, its city terminus was at St Lazare Hausmann and it had two easterly branches.

Line E opened in 1998 and gained its second eastern branch in 2003. The 2004 extension will form part of tomorrow's blog.

Not only is the line colour Magenta, bit it has a station called Magenta ...

... which has a link to Gare du Nord. In fact Magenta IS Gare du Nord and no one seems to know why it wasn't called Gare du Nord.

To all intents and purposes it is part of the one station although offset a little and in deep tunnels to the east.

Top level Gare du Notd is for big trains (including Eurostar) ...

... where a fully covered bus station (hardly used!) replaced the suburban platforms that became the RER lines A and D.

Next level is a long shopping arcade ...

... and another piece of Paris transport infrastructure that once utterly confused fbb!

From here, escalators and tunnels lead to the station platforms ...

... those for A and D ...

... are simply below the shops ...

... and those for E involve a short walk, well signposted.

Unlike RER A, B, C and D, the stations in the tunnel sections of E are huge and a bit cathedral-like.

The aforementioned Chatelet Les Halles (B And D) is particularly claustrophobic and ludicrously busy.

Contract and compare whilst trying to breathe!

Tomorrow: TWO extensions to E

 Next Good News Bad News blog : Weds 16 July