Jekyll2024-10-18T07:39:01+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/feed.xmlStories of the streets, railways and buildings of the most beautiful city in the worldBenjamin Chadwick2024-10-18T00:00:00+00:002024-10-18T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/10/18/exploring-the-metro-11-extensionBenjamin Chadwick

A lot has happened on Paris’s transport system this year. In the summer, I took some time to check it all out. Fresh from my visit to the RER E’s western extension – which I wrote about last time – I headed east to explore the latest on metro line 11. Line 11 of the Paris metro opened in 1935 between Châtelet and Porte des Lilas. The latter is on the city’s eastern edge, while Châtelet is right in the centre. Its last extension was just two years after opening, one stop east to Mairie des Lilas. This left it as the shortest – and least-used – of the network’s “main” lines1. But in June 2024, it almost doubled in length, with six new stations in the east, leading to a new terminus at Rosny – Bois-Perrier. Before June, line 11 terminated at Mairie des Lilas, about halfway along the current route. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons A keen-eyed Wikipedian spotted this map in 2021 at Jourdain station, showing the stations to the east. This was incredibly optimistic: not only would the extension not open until 2024, but transfer with line 15 at the terminus isn’t expected before 2031. Chris93 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Getting there from Porte Maillot, where I had been exploring the RER extension, should have been easy enough: Rosny – Bois-Perrier is on the RER E. With the RER only operating as a shuttle west of Magenta, I had to transfer there; but that was a simple, cross-platform affair. On the other hand, as an inhabitant of central Paris – accustomed to the simplicity of the metro – I hadn’t bargained for the fact not all trains stop at every station. It wasn’t until I was one stop beyond that I realised my train wasn’t calling at Rosny – Bois-Perrier. Maybe that’s something that should change now it’s a metro terminus. After doubling back, I had to exit the station to make the connection to the 11. But it was a short, unencumbered walk. Unlike the vast majority of legacy metro stations, but like most of this extension’s new ones, there is a sizeable surface building. From the outside, it looks fine. Not spectacular like some of the stations currently under construction for line 15; but I have no particular complaints. The new terminus’s functional surface building. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Inside, there’s a large, empty hall. This could easily have looked bland and cold, but the ceiling design does a lot here to prevent that. Perhaps the best feature – very rare on the Paris metro – is the self-cleaning toilet. Let’s hope it’s well looked after. The open hall above the tracks. Note the green unit in the corner: this is a toilet, a rare find on the metro. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] At platform level, it’s a fairly typical Paris metro station, both in terms of design and dimensions. The white tiles and round seats are familiar from across the network. There are plenty of familiar elements here, especially to users of the recently-refurbished line 4. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] I rode one stop to the extension’s standout station: Coteaux Beauclair. Here, the line curves south to serve a park and a major shopping centre, along with parts of the towns of Rosny-sous-Bois and Noisy-le-Sec. For a brief section which includes the station, it runs as an elevated line. The design here is spectacular, resembling the original aerial lines in central Paris (lines 2 and 6), but also looking thoroughly original. From the sleek pylons to the gentle curves, it’s rightly been hailed as this project’s most beautiful element. The aerial platform at Coteaux Beauclair. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] A brand-new MP 14 train heads out of the station. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] That said, when I went down to see the station from ground level, I was surprised to find myself taking stairs. Most of the elevated stations in Paris are fitted with escalators, but not Coteaux Beauclair. Since wheelchair accessibility is legally required on all new sections of the metro, there are lifts. But what about the accessibility benefits of escalators? Not everyone who can’t use stairs needs an elevator. Many find lengthy staircases daunting: should we really funnel them all to the queue for the lift? Despite the climb back up, I was glad to have gone down to ground level to see how the station looks from there. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The “M” mast provides visual coherence with other new stations. The Paris metro’s entrances, which are often nothing more than a hole in the ground with a staircase, feature various sign designs. This is the current iteration, also seen on other recent extensions. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] One of the risks with elevated rail is the dark spaces it can create on the ground. But the choice of steel over concrete and the leanness of the supports mean there isn’t much of a shadow here. The pale street surface helps, too. The overall effect is light and airy, rather than dark and scary. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] I didn’t have time to stop at every station, but I did jump out at Serge Gainsbourg, named in honour of the singer-songwriter behind “Le poinçonneur des Lilas” – “The ticket inspector of Les Lilas”. If a station had to be named in honour of the singer, it made sense to do it here in Les Lilas. But not everyone agreed he should be given such an honour2. Recent extensions to lines 4 and 12 were criticised for their lacklustre designs, particularly at platform level. On line 11, designers have made two welcome modifications to the “white box” model followed there. Dark grey has been added to the colour scheme, and a subtle curve has been added to the shape. The network’s signature white tiles, bordered with a green trim, make sure you know you’re on the Paris metro. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] This could be mistaken for a preexisting station, were it not so clean. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Above the platforms, one gets the sense the designers couldn’t afford a colour printer. There are plenty of shades of grey, but not much else. Stepping outside, the entire area was still under construction, making it difficult to get a sense of the finished product. The entrances I saw featured the same mast as at Coteaux Beauclair, along with curved railings subtly reminiscent of Hector Guimard’s classic originals. This design has already been used at other recent stations. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Satisfied, I boarded another train towards Châtelet and collected my thoughts. This extension is a game changer for residents of the suburbs it serves, offering fast, frequent access to the city centre on brand-new walk-through trains. As for the look and feel of the stations themselves: the aerial section is magnificent, while the rest of the extension is modern and functional, albeit without much in the way of “wow” factor. I didn't exit the train at La Dhuys. I regret this, as this photo makes it look quite special. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons 26 metres below the ground, Romainville – Carnot is one of the network's deepest stations. Idris2000 [CC BY 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons My next adventure would take me somewhere very special: a mega extension of line 14, bringing driverless trains deep into the Parisian periphery. Of huge importance in its own right, it also presages the developments coming in the next few years. This extension is the first stage of the Grand Paris Express, a plan to literally double the length of metro track in the region. Come back next time to find out more. Excluding lines 3 bis and 7 bis, stubs associated with other lines. The footfall figures group these with the 3 and 7 respectively. ↩ Among the many criticisms: one of Gainsbourg’s best-known songs is “Lemon Incest”, about the singer’s relationship with his daughter Charlotte, then 12 or 13. According to the song’s Wikipedia page, “Charlotte and Serge routinely denied the song, whose title is ‘Lemon Incest’, is about incest”. ↩

2024-10-08T00:00:00+00:002024-10-08T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/10/08/exploring-the-rer-e-extensionBenjamin Chadwick

2024 is a big year for transport in Paris. Between April and June, four major extensions opened. I visited some of these in the early summer, and will share my thoughts over the next few articles. In May, RER line E was extended westwards. It was a smaller-scale extension than was initially planned for 2024, and with a very partial service. But the stations themselves are truly spectacular. The extension includes the introduction of new RER NG (“nouvelle génération”) trainsets. The interior is nice, even if it features one of my pet peeves: fabric-covered hard plastic seats. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The beginning Paris has had railways for almost two centuries, and a metro system since the 1900s. But in 1977, an entirely new form of rail transport was born: the RER. Standing for “réseau express régional” – “regional express network” – it’s a sort of hybrid between rapid transit and suburban rail. The concept is simple: connect pre-existing suburban lines to the city centre with a central tunnel. It’s proven incredibly powerful, with its five lines serving almost a billion passengers between them each year. Lines A and B are Europe’s busiest railways. By the mid-1990s, there were four lines: the A running east-west, the B and D running north-south, and the C doing its own notoriously complicated thing. But the region needed another east-west link, particularly for journeys between the Gare du Nord and the central business district around Saint-Lazare. This new line, first announced in 1989, was codenamed “Éole”. It stands for “est-ouest liaison express” – “east-west express link” – but it’s also a name from Greek mythology (the French form of Aeolus). The state of things before May 2024. The three westernmost stations are in the city proper, with the rest reaching deep into the eastern suburbs. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Éole began life in 1999 as the RER E. But unlike the other lines of the RER network, it was lopsided: it only connected the eastern suburbs with new stations at the Gare du Nord (Magenta) and Saint-Lazare (Haussmann – Saint-Lazare). These cathedralesque caverns are truly beautiful, and have remained so for a quarter of a century; but they were never intended to be the end of the story. After much delay, including uncertainty about the route, 2024 was meant to be the year the full extension to Mantes-la-Jolie opened. In the event, only the section to Nanterre – La Folie, a brand-new station in a major suburb just west of La Défense, is now operational. For the time being, it’s running as a shuttle, detached from the line’s main operations. And because of a lack of space to turn trains around in the central stations during rush hour, the shuttle is only running in the off-peak. But passengers can now visit the extension’s three spectacular new stations. Through services from Nanterre to the eastern suburbs will begin on 15 December. After the full extension, the line will reach right to the edge of Normandy, in the town of Mantees-la-Jolie. This will finally bring balance, with the four stations of the city proper, from Porte Maillot to Rosa Parks, situated in the middle. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons The line after May’s extension. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Empty but awe-inspiring Running only in the off-peak, even a relatively low frequency of four trains per hour seems like overkill. When I visited on a Sunday afternoon, the stations and the trains were almost empty. And the sense of emptiness was enhanced by the stations’ vastness. I started at the western end, a short walk from the existing Nanterre – Préfecture station on line A. Nanterre – La Folie is nestled between office buildings: this area is within the orbit of the huge business district of La Défense. It’s a stylish, if unassuming, station. The bank of ticket gates shows that it’s dimensioned for much larger numbers than it’s getting now. It needs to be ready for peak service, not only to welcome through trains from the eastern suburbs, but also services from the west once they launch in the latter half of the decade. Look at all those ticket gates! Apart from the wheelchair-accessible one at the left, these are one-way, but the direction can easily be switched. Note the construction work outside, in this rapidly developing area. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] A view from the eastbound platform. The supports are holding up an office building which straddles part of the station. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The other platforms are protected by simpler canopies. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] La Défense A little east of the provisional terminus, trains dip underground into a new tunnel. At La Défense, already a major transport hub, a vast station hall has been dug underneath the Cnit shopping centre. It’s incredible they found the space in this crowded underground environment, already home to so many rail and road tunnels and the foundations of France’s highest skyscrapers. Much of the sense of space has been achieved with the vertical dimension – I almost regret using the term “cathedralesque” for the central stations, because I can’t find a better word here – but the horizontal footprint is also sizeable. I alighted here, intending to spend 15 minutes looking around before taking the next train east. If what took my breath away was the scale, I found plenty of other nice touches. The combination of wood and exposed concrete is reminiscent of the line’s original underground stations opened in the 1990s. But it doesn’t feel stale or derivative. This is a thoroughly modern station. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The vast underground space at La Défense resembles the existing stations in Paris, built in the 1990s. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] On a mezzanine, I found a pair of functional, self-cleaning toilets, accessible by scanning a transport pass or ticket. Too few stations provide such facilities, which, as transport expert Reece Martin has pointed out, are an important accessibility feature. Let’s hope they’re well looked after: there’s a similar offering at Haussmann, but it’s been out of order every time I’ve passed. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Five minutes before my train was due to arrive, an announcement informed waiting passengers that it had been held up at Nanterre thanks to a technical issue. I suppose it was sensible to separate the extension from the rest of the line while they ironed such matters out. Unsure how long I’d have to wait, I opted to travel to the next station by another route. Line 1 of the metro also connects La Défense with Porte Maillot, with a couple of intermediate stops. This change of plans allowed me to test out the connection. The walk to line A is remarkably straightforward, thanks to a passenger tunnel whose white panelling reminds me vaguely of London’s Elizabeth line. A short walk further (mostly upwards) connects to the terminus of line 1. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Neuilly – Porte Maillot After getting off at Porte Maillot, I was unable to make the underground connection to the RER. A passenger tunnel had been constructed, but hadn’t opened yet. Instead, I exited the metro onto the plaza before descending into the new station. Porte Maillot, a major road intersection at the edge of Paris, was already home to the metro and a branch of RER line C. The main draw is the Palais des Congrès, a convention centre, performance venue and shopping mall. This year, the location welcomed two new rail links. Tramway line 3b arrived here in April, and in May, the RER E station opened. The Palais des Congrès and the adjoined Hyatt hotel are served by the transport hub at Porte Maillot. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The new hub is a great example of a holistic approach to transport and urban development. To welcome the tramway and the new station, the entire plaza was reimagined from a nightmarish roundabout to something more manageable for visitors on foot. The Palais’s entire forecourt, once a dropoff point for cars, is now pedestrianised, with a lot of new vegetation to boot. Flanking the picture are two new entrance buildings, each housing a set of escalators heading underground. Between them, a stretch of the esplanade is paved with glass. I stepped into one of the entrances and onto a crawling escalator, which sped up when it sensed my presence, carrying me deep under the street. Stepping into the underground space, I understood that glass paving: although the platforms are deep below the ground, they are bathed in natural light. Once again, the wood and cream-coloured concrete reminded me of Haussmann and Magenta. This time, I also spotted a resemblance in the hanging lights. The overall colour was different thanks to the penetrating sunshine, but we were still a world away from the cold white light of most of the metro. On the way down. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The escalator shafts visible from the platforms are vaguely reminiscent of the Centre Georges Pompidou or Terminal 1 of Charles de Gaulle airport. My overall impression, as at La Défense, was of something clean and polished, yet with no shortage of flair. There's no shortage of escalators. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Whatever the technical problem was, it must have been resolved quickly enough. Satisfied with my visit, I boarded the next train east to Magenta to continue my journey of discovery with a look at the extension to metro line 11. I’ll tell you all about that next time.

2024-09-26T00:00:00+00:002024-09-26T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/09/26/autumn-updateBenjamin Chadwick

When a colleague asked me recently to translate the French word rentrée, I struggled. It basically means “back-to-school”, but it’s much wider than that. In a country where three-week summer vacations are the norm, the beginning of September is about more than just school. Paris empties out in August, with many restaurants closing for a month or more. Doctors disappear. Politicians leave their posts. In September, it’s all over. This year’s rentrée was even more abrupt than usual. Many locals dreaded the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and fled the capital for longer than usual. In the event, Paris 2024 was widely seen as a success. But it’s over now, and the Parisians are back. Meanwhile, a snap legislative election at the beginning of July left France effectively without a government. But we have one now. And the semblance of national unity we saw during the Olympics has dissolved in the September rain. Indeed, even the weather has made it clear the summer is over, with temperatures dropping significantly after the end of August. After a longer-than-expected hiatus, it’s also time for Fabric of Paris’s rentrée. Let’s look at some of what’s happened in the city during this historic summer – and a little of what to expect in the coming months. Transport This being Fabric of Paris, we’ll start with transport. After tram line 3b’s extension opened in April, three even more significant extensions followed. RER line E was extended westward to Nanterre in May, and although service on the new section remains very partial, it has offered us a chance to see its spectacular new stations. I visited in June, and will post soon with more photos and analysis. The new RER E station at La Défense. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] Metro line 11 followed, doubling in length to reach Rosny-sous-Bois, deep in the eastern suburbs. I visited this extension shortly after it opened in June, and will also publish my thoughts on this shortly. By far the most important extension, in terms of scale, impact, and immediate utility, is that of line 14, which also doubled in length and now reaches from Saint-Denis (serving Olympic sites like the Stade de France and the aquatics centre) to Orly airport. I visited this on the evening of 24 June, the day it opened, and will publish my thoughts about it soon. It’s hard to capture the scale of the new line 14 terminus in Saint-Denis. Suffice it to say that it’s quite unlike any other station of the Paris metro. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] To make sure you catch every post, sign up for email updates. Two other transport developments have recently piqued my interest. The first is Urbanloop, a new attempt to make “personal rapid transit” work. The concept aims to take passengers directly, without intermediate stops or transfers, from their origin to their destination, using small, driverless pods. Paris has tried this before with Aramis, whose failure I covered in depth in an early Fabric article. With technology having moved on, the folks behind Urbanloop claim their moment has come. But their version, thus far at least, is less ambitious in scale. PRT can work in small, closed systems, as demonstrated by Heathrow airport’s Ultra. Urbanloop’s showcase this summer served an Olympic fan zone in the southwestern suburb of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, and had just two stations. In 2028, they will step up to a seven-station line, in Nancy in eastern France. The other newcomer is a cable car in Créteil. I wrote in 2020 about the region’s ambitious plans for cable cars. For now, only one line has been confirmed. But it’s almost here. Câble C1 (formerly “Câble A”) began test runs this month, ahead of its opening next year. Elections The early summer was also marked by elections to both the European parliament and the French National Assembly. My short piece about the French legislative election (and the simultaneous UK general election) was picked up by the Medium newsletter. Games In July, the big event began: for the first time in a century, Paris hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Almost everyone seemed to think something would go wrong. A dedicated optimist, even I began to wobble when, on the day of the opening ceremony, saboteurs caused chaos on the national railway network. But the innovative ceremony along the Seine was a huge success. Not even continuous rain could spoil the atmosphere. During the Games, I wandered over to the Tuileries garden to see the Olympic cauldron. I wasn’t alone. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The railways were disrupted for the weekend, but back to normal by the following Monday, when I took a TGV north to Lille for some women’s basketball. I had never been to a sports match of any kind before, but this was a blast. I also enjoyed table tennis and badminton matches back in Paris. Unlike in previous Games, where huge new complexes have been built and later gone underused, Paris 2024 was dedicated to sustainability. Many of the venues were temporary structures, for example at the Place de la Concorde or the Champ de Mars. Others were preexisting sites, like the Stade de France or the exposition centre at Porte de Versailles. The only new venues were an indoor stadium at Porte de la Chapelle and an aquatics centre in Saint-Denis. These were carefully considered according to the long-term needs of locals. Next The Games have gone, but Paris’s story continues. Mayor Anne Hidalgo is known internationally for her work to reduce the impact of cars on the city. Following the Olympics, she is pushing ahead with a plan to tame the notorious boulevard périphérique.. During the Games, one lane of the ring road was reserved for Olympic traffic. From 1 October, this lane will be dedicated, during weekday rush hours, to carpooling and public transport. Meanwhile, the speed limit on the road – currently 70 km/h – will be reduced to 50. This is of course controversial, not least because most of the périph’s users don’t live under Hidalgo’s jurisdiction. But many of those impacted by it do. According to experts, the change in speed limit is unlikely to measurably impact air pollution. But it should reduce noise impacts, particularly at night when there is little enough congestion for it to matter. The périphérique near the Porte de Vincennes in 1971. FORTEPAN / Urbán Tamás [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons In public transport, a new bus rapid transit line is expected to open later this year: line 4 of the “T Zen” network. Although it’s numbered 4, this will only be the second such line. The T Zen features dedicated lanes, signal priority and all-door boarding – hallmarks of BRT. Uniquely for the region, line 4 will sport double-articulated buses, reaching a length of 24 metres. And they’re fully electric. In the longer term, a major shakeup of ticket fares is in the works. From 1 January, all rail and metro journeys will cost €2.50 – a fairly big increase for journeys within the city centre, but a huge drop for many longer journeys on the regional rail network. Bus and tram trips will cost €2. With a Liberté+ card, which allows residents to be billed each month for the previous month’s journeys, prices will be 20% lower. Finally: on 8 December, the Notre-Dame will open her doors once again. The renovation won’t be finished, but it will – for the first time since the fire of April 2019 – be safe enough for visitors and worshippers to enjoy. You can expect follow-up posts in the next few weeks about many of the things I’ve mentioned here. 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2024-05-28T00:00:00+00:002024-05-28T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/05/28/tramways-ile-de-france-history-railBenjamin Chadwick

When I first began work on this history of the tramways of Île-de-France, I expected it to last for maybe two or three articles. But the chaotic early days of the region’s historic network provided ample material. By part 7, we’d only made it halfway! From the mid-19th century until the network’s closure in the 1930s, dozens of companies had built hundreds of lines using several different technologies, from horses to steam to various forms of electric traction. The modern network has its own share of chaos. Its 14 lines boast almost as many different configurations. Most run on steel rails, but two use rubber tyres. Most run with 750 V DC overhead power lines, but two other electrification systems are also in use. Most run on the right, but one line runs on the left, and two have sections of both. Most have dedicated rights of way, but there are exceptions here too. Signalling also varies, as well as who operates the trams, and how journeys are paid for. This variety began early. Today, we will introduce the second and third lines to open, uncovering the source of some of that variety. We will start by rewinding to 1875, at the birth of the two early railways which would eventually become lines 2 and 4 of the modern tramway.

2024-03-29T00:00:00+00:002024-03-29T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/03/29/avant-premiere-fabric-of-paris-walking-toursBenjamin Chadwick

It’s been a while since I’ve written any new material for Fabric of Paris. That’s largely because I’ve been working on something else. Something I’m very excited to announce here: Fabric of Paris walking tours.

2024-02-29T00:00:00+00:002024-02-29T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/02/29/transport-in-ile-de-france-a-new-year-retrospective-personal-transportBenjamin Chadwick

Last month, we spent some time looking at what’s new in transport in Île-de-France. Today, we shift the focus from public to personal transport, to see how walking, cycling and driving have changed in the last year, and how they will continue to evolve in 2024. For many years now, Paris has been working to rebalance the street space we give to cars versus other needs, like walking and cycling. Four years ago, the pandemic gave cities around the world the chance to accelerate this transition. Paris’s “coronapiste” cycle lanes, originally delineated with temporary bollards and blocks of concrete, became permanent. This year, a new opportunity presents itself in the form of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Once again, mayor Anne Hidalgo and her team plan to make permanent some of the temporary changes required for the Games. But that’s not all that’s changing. Let’s take a look. The boulevard périphérique in 2017. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Taming the périph The boulevard périphérique is a ring road around the city limits of Paris. Hundreds of thousands of people, many in social housing, live within a few hundred metres of the road, enduring its noise and breathing the exhaust fumes and tyre dust it throws up. There are also dozens of schools and even sports facilities adjacent to the road. Despite a small drop in traffic from its peak in the 1990s, the four-lane highway remains one of Europe’s busiest roads. During the summer, one lane of the so-called boulevard will be dedicated to Olympic traffic. After the athletes have left, it will remain as a lane dedicated to carpooling and public transport. The transformation also includes the planting of tens of thousands of trees. Alongside this change, a number of the périphérique’s junctions are being transformed to make them less hostile to people not inside a vehicle. The Porte de la Chapelle – home to the only permanent new arena built for the 2024 Olympics – is one example. But four other portes – including the Porte Maillot, site of both a new RER station and a tramway extension – are being similarly remodelled. City hall also wants to reduce the speed limit, currently 70 km/h, to 50. This is another step towards the ultimate goal of making the road a classic urban boulevard, which would allow pedestrians across. But the national government wants to block the measure. Genuine concern for suburban drivers, or cynical culture war posturing? Cycling infrastructure Every Olympic site will be reachable by a dedicated bike lane, thanks to 60 km of new infrastructure. And Paris and the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, where most of the events are taking place, have promised to make these permanent. 10 000 bicycle parking spaces will also be provided, spread around the various sites; the stands will then be transferred elsewhere in the region. Those without their own bike will be able to use the local cycle hire scheme, Vélib’, thanks to its 3000 extra mechanical and electric-assist bikes. These aren’t the only new cycle lanes being added to the Parisian streetscape. Among the many recently completed lanes is one on the rue La Fayette, leading all the way from Stalingrad in the densely populated north east to the department stores and offices of the boulevard Haussmann. The two-way cycle lane on the boulevard de Sébastopol, one of Paris's busiest, counted nearly 5 million cyclists in 2023. A record we can expect to be broken in 2024. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Instagram Pedestrianisations, large and small Paris continues to increase the number of school streets. As of November, Paris boasted 201 of these: streets next to schools where access to cars is restricted. In many cases, this is controlled with a barrier which can only be opened by the emergency services. Where this isn’t possible – for example, because delivery vehicles need access to local shops – signs ban entry to all other users and speeds are restricted to a walking pace. These prevent the dangerous approach of often large cars for dropoff and pickup, and reduce pollution in the playground. Outside of school hours, kids and dog owners alike use them to play, while neighbours can get a better night’s sleep. Of Paris’s 201 school streets, most of which have been introduced in the last few years, 56 have been completely redesigned, introducing more greenery and sometimes even play equipment. Check out the gallery on the city’s website to see what I mean. By 2026, the number of school streets is set to sit at 300, with 100 of these being redesigned. The rue des Vertus, in the 3rd arrondissement, is one of Paris's older school streets. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Instagram Beyond these small-scale pedestrianisations, city hall has its sights on some landmark transformations. The Place de la Concorde, Paris’s largest square and one with a rich history, is currently a nightmare roundabout. The municipal council voted this month to turn it into a place for people. In the same session, they voted to pedestrianise part of the Place du Trocadéro (which overlooks the Eiffel Tower from the right bank) and the Pont d’Iéna (which connects the two). Mayor Hidalgo discussed this plan years ago, but the prefect of police wasn’t a fan. This time, the current prefect has said he needs to wait for new studies before making a decision. The municipal opposition, meanwhile, doesn’t like the idea. Referendums, for good and ill Last April, Parisians voted in an unprecedented local referendum to ban free-floating e-scooters from the city. The result was overwhelming, and the mayor hailed it as a great democratic success. But turnout was only 11%. And the result was to remove a relatively green, clean and safe alternative to driving. This month, we repeated the exercise, this time on a subject closer to my heart: tripling the price of parking for SUVs. I wrote about this at greater length in November, and again for Streetsblog USA just before the vote. In short, I fully support the policy, but I questioned the strategy of holding a referendum. The result was less extreme this time: 54.55% voted in favour of the policy. Turnout was even worse: 5.68%. I breathed a sigh of relief, but opponents were quick to cry foul, complaining voters were confused because there were fewer polling stations than in an election. Paris's on-street parking was not specified for the ever-larger vehicles of today. This SUV overhangs by a significant margin. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Instagram The same day, local votes were organised in some arrondissements: Residents of the centre said yes to redesigning the Place du Louvre in favour of pedestrians, vegetation and public transport. In the 10th arrondissement, residents voted for new cycle lanes on the boulevard de Magenta. This is a major thoroughfare where the current cycle lanes, on the sidewalks, are not fit for purpose. Citizens of the 12th voted in favour of expanding the concept of school streets to other municipal buildings frequented by children, such as libraries and sports facilities. In the 20th, locals supported the creation of a “caisse alimentaire solidaire” – a sort of social security for food. This is the only one of the day’s votes not focused on street design, one of the main competencies of the local government. In the 8th arrondissement, voters rejected a proposal to pedestrianise some key streets in the north of the district. This arrondissement, along with others in the west of the city, also voted against the new SUV measure. This repeats the pattern we see every election, with the west typically voting for the right, while the east and centre lean left. Limited traffic zone The city has been talking about a new limited traffic zone in the centre of Paris for a few years now. Originally touted for 2022, city hall now insists it will be implemented this year, after the Paralympic Games. The first plan included the first four arrondissements (governed as Paris Centre), along with parts of the 5th and 6th. This has now been scaled back to just Paris Centre, but the city still hopes to include the road along the river on the left bank, subject to approval from the prefecture of police. The zone is intended to allow anyone to drive in, but not across. Buses, emergency vehicles, taxis and registered private hire cars will be exempt. The city’s web page on the subject doesn’t explain how the measure will be enforced. There’s no mention of automated enforcement, which would be tricky since anyone is allowed in as long as they can justify that they’re not merely passing through. But will there be police at every entry point every day? Presumably they will rely on random checks, making the system somewhat leaky. A better approach might be the one taken in the Marais, where a new traffic plan was introduced last year. By simply inverting some one-way streets, access was maintained, but it became much more difficult to drive across. Dedicated bus lanes – which are easier to enforce with cameras – can ensure that public transit, taxis and emergency vehicles are still able to pass from one side to the other. National changes for drivers To finish, there are a few changes affecting drivers across the country, thanks to recent changes in the law. These are a mixed bag: Starting in April, motorcycles will finally be included in the requirement for vehicle safety checks. Cars have been subject to tests every two years since 1992; for two-wheeled vehicles, the policy has been pushed back a number of times. For president Emmanuel Macron, 2022 “wasn’t the moment to annoy the French people”. Never mind the annoyance of non-compliant motorbikes storming through the city at all hours. Since 1 January 2024, small speeding tickets no longer cost the offender points on their licence. A clean French driving licence has 12 points; if this drops to 0, the licence is withdrawn. Prior to this year, if you were caught speeding by less than 5 km/h, you could lose one point. Factor in the tolerance allowed to account for margin of error, and this could mean doing 60 in an urban 50 km/h zone. Evidently the government believes that if you manage to get 12 speeding tickets, you don’t deserve to lose your licence. For interior minister Gérald Darmanin, this is being “understanding with those who work”. So it’s impossible to get to work without speeding? Also new for 2024: taxes for registering large and polluting cars have gone up. Penalties exist based on both weight and carbon dioxide emissions, and January 2024 saw several changes to these penalties. Most notable is that the tax was previously capped to 50% of a vehicle’s price. With this cap removed, some of the worst-offending cars will now cost more to register than to buy in the first place. This brings our annual new year retrospective to a close. As we’ve seen, big changes are happening in 2024, with new long-distance train services, metro and tramway extensions, new ticketing options, expanded cycle lanes, and more and more pedestrianisations. 2024 will be a historic year for Paris.

2024-01-24T00:00:00+00:002024-01-24T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/01/24/transport-in-ile-de-france-a-new-year-retrospective-how-paris-pays-for-its-transportBenjamin Chadwick

As is customary in January, Fabric of Paris is looking back at the previous year, and ahead to the year to come, to see what’s new in the world of transport. Last week, we reported on the new tramways of 2023, the major metro and RER extensions of 2024, and much else besides. But we only briefly touched on an important subject: how we pay for it all. Let’s clear up what can be quite a confusing subject, and talk about what’s changing. As in most cities, transport in the Paris region is paid for in part by fares and in part by taxes. Changes are happening on both fronts. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] How fares work Parisians who use public transport daily buy a monthly or annual pass. The monthly cost is €86.40; buy a whole year and you get one month free. This increased in January from €84.10. Employers are required to reimburse half the fare, which allows travel across Île-de-France. For London readers, that’s an area the size of Greater London, Kent, Essex, Surrey and Hertfordshire combined. If you don’t ride every day – for example, if you work from home for some or all of the week – then a pass might not be worth it. The same is true for visitors. A weekly pass exists, but this runs from Monday to Sunday, so might not be much help if you arrive mid-week. The most familiar single ticket is called the t+. With a t+ ticket, passengers can ride the metro, most buses and trams, and, within the city limits of Paris, the RER. Suburban rail journeys outside the city core require “origin-destination” tickets. Generally speaking, bus and tram journeys can be combined, as can metro and rail, but you can’t transfer from a bus to a train without paying extra. But with the Navigo Liberté + card, which bills riders each month for the previous month’s usage, buses and trams can be combined with the metro and RER. On the other hand, that card still isn’t valid for origin-destination journeys. Are you keeping up? By and large, trams are treated like buses. But the “express” lines – 11, 12 and 13 – are treated like trains, meaning passengers must buy origin-destination tickets and cannot combine them with buses. Line 4 is treated like any other tramway, despite also being a tram-train line operated by the SNCF. RER journeys within the city are eligible for the t+. But take the RER to, say, La Défense – outside the city limits – and you’ll need a special ticket. Make exactly the same journey on metro line 1, and the t+ will do fine. To access the RER platforms at La Défense, a t+ ticket won't do. Benjamin Chadwick [CC BY-SA 4.0] The system has just about made sense so far, since the metro only reaches into the nearest suburbs. But this year, line 14 will go all the way to Orly airport. Commentators had been asking how ticketing would work in that case, since the 14 will be in competition with the expensive OrlyVal shuttle and the OrlyBus. The final decision is as absurd as, having read thus far, you might expect. It seems you’ll be able to travel all the way to Thiais – Orly, the penultimate station, on a t+ ticket, which currently costs €2.15 (up from €2.10 last year) if bought individually. But if you want to travel one stop further, you’ll have to pay €11.50. The slow death of paper tickets Paris is slowly moving away from paper tickets. For the t+, this began in 2019 with the introduction of the Navigo Easy, a card which can hold multiple tickets, and – for locals – the Navigo Liberté +. The Easy is a good option for tourists, who can load tickets either individually or, for a 20% discount, in “books” (carnets) of 10. The Liberté + is better for locals, who can sign up to have their bank account debited each month for the previous month’s journeys, all of which are billed at the same 20% discount. The Navigo Easy. Benjamin Chadwick [Public domain] The transition continued with smartphone tickets, first introduced on Android. This spring, promises transport authority Île-de-France Mobilités, these will be available on iPhones too. In 2021, metro stations began to stop selling individual tickets in books of 10. From September 2023, these have disappeared completely, although individual paper tickets are still available. If you want to ride tramway line 10, which opened in June 2023, you’d better have a card, because the readers are not equipped to scan traditional tickets. For origin-destination tickets, paper will be around a while longer. In 2022, I reported that the Liberté + was being extended that year to regional rail travel, but that still hasn’t happened. Now, it’s promised “by the end of 2024”. Origin-destination tickets are complex. Île-de-France Mobilités is looking at replacing them with a zone-based system “in the coming months”. This could revolutionise travel in the region, but it might not be merely positive. Will it still be possible to take the metro to La Défense for only €1.73? Will we one day be able to access the system directly with a credit card, like in London, Lille or Rennes? Let’s hope so. But it’ll be a while yet. The traditional paper T+ ticket is on its last legs. Tangopaso [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons Olympic fare hike Visitors to the Olympics and Paralympics face transport ticket prices far beyond the usual. From 20 July to 8 September, the t+ ticket will cost €4. The weekly pass, normally €30.75, will cost €70. But monthly and annual passes and the Liberté + are untouched. The idea is that only visitors will pay the extra costs, as locals will either have passes or be able to stock up in advance. Why is this money needed? Well, the transport offering is set to increase by 15%, costing €200 million. The price hike is deeply controversial, but would locals prefer an increase in their tax burden? Other sources of revenue That brings us to the rest of the transport system’s money pot. In 2022, the Paris region’s transport system recovered 33% of its operating costs from the farebox. Wikipedia’s comparison page should probably be taken with a dollop of salt, but it suggests this is a low figure by international standards. Where does the rest of the money come from? The single most important source of revenue is a payroll tax called the versement mobilité. Every business in the region with more than 10 people on its payroll pays a percentage of each employee’s salary to this tax. In 2022, this covered 48% of the operating budget of Île-de-France Mobilités. The rest of the money comes from the public purse, mostly the regional government and the municipal government of Paris. Less than 2% comes from advertising. New city tax What’s new in 2024 is the city tax. Paris and its suburbs already imposed a tax on any visitor staying overnight. But this year, the region has added two taxes, tripling the existing payment. Where guests in the city proper previously paid a maximum of €5, that maximum – which applies to many apartments on Airbnb – has now risen to €14.95. A small additional tax is to go towards the Société des grands projets: the company formerly known as Société du grand Paris, in charge of building the extension of line 14 and several brand-new metro lines. But most of the increase is allocated to the operational budget of Île-de-France Mobilités. This brings us to the end of this update on how transport in Île-de-France is funded. Next time, we will look at what’s new in personal transport: driving and active travel. Make sure you’re signed up for email updates if you don’t want to miss it.

2024-01-16T00:00:00+00:002024-01-16T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/01/16/transport-in-ile-de-france-a-new-year-retrospective-local-public-transportBenjamin Chadwick

Here at Fabric of Paris, January is an opportunity to look back at the past year’s transport developments and to get excited about what’s in store for the coming year. Last week, we looked at national and international rail services from Paris. But there are lots of interesting things happening in the local transport network. Let’s dive in. Tramways 2023 saw the opening of two brand-new tram lines in the Île-de-France region. T10 Line 10 opened in June. It’s a conventional tramway reminiscent of line 9, which opened two years earlier: the stops are similar in design, and it uses the same Alstom Citadis 405 rolling stock. The line runs through the southern part of the Hauts-de-Seine department, which can be qualified as “inner-suburban”, of moderate population density by regional standards. It offers connections with RER line B, tramway line 6 and bus rapid transit line Tvm. There will be no sharing of vehicles between the tramways: line 6 runs on rubber tyres. A T10 tram at Hôpital Béclère station in October. Building a new tramway is an opportunity to embellish a street, and reduce how much space we dedicate to the private car. Smiley.toerist [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons The opening of line 10 was marred by riots days later, in which one of its trams in Clamart was set alight. The riots, a difficult start to the French summer, were triggered by the shooting dead of a 17-year-old by police in nearby Nanterre. Like most of the region’s tramways – but unlike line 9 – it is operated by Paris’s historic transport company, RATP. As with all new lines, trams are liveried in the colours of the regional authority, Île-de-France Mobilités. T12 Express 2023’s other new tramway opened in December, several kilometres further south in the department of Essonne. This one is a tram-train line: vehicles run as trams south of Petit Vaux, while to the north they operate on the Grande Ceinture railway line, formerly part of RER line C. On the railway, they run on the left, as is standard for mainline trains in France; on the remaining section, they are driven on the right, in common with other road vehicles. The low-floor vehicles, Alstom’s Citadis Dualis, are capable of drawing from either a 1500 V DC power line (used on this part of the Grande Ceinture) or a 750 V DC line (used on most French tramways). But in a departure from the norm for tramways, the entire line uses the same 1500 V standard. A Citadis Dualis at the southern terminus of Évry-Courcouronnes last week. Idris2000 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons This is the third “express” tramway line, operating over parts of the Grande Ceinture. It’s the fourth line on the network to use tram-train vehicles and infrastructure that belongs to the national railway. But it’s arguably the region’s first true tram-train, in that it’s the first to actually share track with other services: both long-distance passenger and freight trains. The T12 provides a welcome new link between the urban centres of Massy and Évry. However, it’s resulted in degraded service for people on the stretch of RER it’s appropriated. Connections involve rather too much walking, especially at Évry. And a shortage of drivers has led to headways of 15 minutes and sometimes even worse. The timetable isn’t synchronised with that of the RER, leaving people with a new waiting period where once their journey towards Paris was direct. On the other hand, an important goal of the new line was to simplify service patterns on the notoriously confusing and unreliable RER C. The ultimate plan will take the line west from Massy all the way to Versailles, though the timetable for that is uncertain. A degree of simplification has nonetheless been achieved. Upcoming developments 2023 brings to a close an extraordinary period of tramway expansion. At the beginning of 2013, the network counted just 5 lines. At the beginning of 2021, that had increased to 10. Three years later, there are as many as 14. But there are no plans for entirely new lines in the foreseeable future. That said, we can still expect important developments in the coming years. In spring 2024, line 3b will be extended to Porte Dauphine. Tram line 3 first opened in 2006. In 2012, it was extended to Porte de Vincennes and renamed 3a, with a new sister line, 3b, continuing around the city’s eastern frontier. The latter was extended in 2018 to the north west. This year’s extension, through the 17th and into the 16th arrondissement, might be the last, leaving an open loop from the new terminus to the Seine. Closing the circle is unpopular with residents of this affluent, relatively car-dependent part of town. But extending the 3a to meet the 3b would create connections with metro lines 9 and 10. The extension to Porte Dauphine connects with metro lines 1 (at Porte Maillot) and 2 (at the new terminus). As elsewhere, the creation of the tramway has allowed the redevelopment of the road junctions along the route, many of which are dangerous roundabouts. This is especially true at Porte Maillot, which is being completely transformed to the benefit of pedestrians. It’s an important destination, the site of the Palais des Congrès, which houses a conference centre, performance venue, shopping mall and hotel. The building works at Porte Maillot in May 2023. The tramway will pass the Palais des Congrès, pictured on the left. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons The final piece of exciting tram news for 2024 is the arrival of the first new vehicles on line 1. This line opened in 1992, the first in a new generation of tramways. Once a pioneer, today it has the oldest rolling stock on the network. This year, that changes. At the same time, the existing line is being upgraded as it prepares for extensions at both ends in 2025 and 2027. Too long to operate as a single line, it will be broken into three segments. If you want to know more about Paris's tramways, you might be interested in my ongoing history. There are still several parts to come: don't hesitate to sign up for email updates so you don't miss out. Regional rail Changes to line C While we wait for the T12 to be extended to Versailles, the stretch of RER line C west of Massy has been broken off to form a shuttle. This is nothing new: line D has a similarly detached suburban segment, as do Transilien lines H, P and R1. What’s new this time is that the new section has been rebranded, to form the new Transilien V. I welcome the extra clarity this brings. But the obvious question arises: why not do the same for the similar branches elsewhere? The Esbly-Crécy branch of line P uses the same rolling stock as the region’s tram-train lines, so a case could be made for renaming it T14. The others could take W, X and Y. The only issue is that that doesn’t leave a lot of scope for new lines unless we start using another alphabet. My vote is for Egyptian hieroglyphs. The advent of line V removes the bizarre Versailles-Versailles service from the RER C, and the accompanying confusion for château-bound tourists. Take the wrong Versailles train, and you could find yourself snaking through the fields of Essonne to arrive at a station some distance from your destination. A new sign at Massy-Palaiseau in December. Chabe01 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Westbound extension of line E RER line E opened in 1999, linking the eastern suburbs with the Gare du Nord and the central business district at Haussmann – Saint-Lazare. It was intended the line would eventually continue westwards, taking over suburban railways all the way out to Mantes-la-Jolie in the outer reaches of Île-de-France. Final plans, which would include new stations at Porte Maillot, La Défense and Nanterre, scheduled the opening for 2020. This was later adjusted to 2022. As of 2020, the plan was for trains to serve Nanterre from 2023 and reach all the way to Mantes in 2024. As it stands today, there will be a very partial opening in April 2024 – with four trains an hour in off-peak hours and none at all in the peak – and a full opening to Nanterre in October. For Mantes, we’ll be waiting until at least the end of 2026. This RER extension is a huge project. It will offer a direct route from the Gare du Nord to the La Défense business district, where engineers managed to create space for an ample station in a dense underground environment of existing transportation and the foundations of skyscrapers. It will also be central to a new hub at Porte Maillot, where it will join the newly extended tramway. RER rolling stock Line E welcomed its first swanky new RER NG trains in November 2023. This year, they will arrive on line D. Heavily delayed by funding issues, and in particular by problems at manufacturer Alstom, they will provide a welcome upgrade for passengers on those lines. After renovation, line D’s older stock will be handed down to line C. The new RER NG train was inaugurated at Haussmann – Saint-Lazare in November. Julio974fr [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Bus rapid transit A new bus rapid transit (BRT) line is scheduled to arrive in autumn. BRT lines combine features like dedicated lanes, signal priority and all-door boarding to provide efficient transportation with buses. The Paris region has experience here, with the Tvm operating since 1993, and line 393 since 2011. Also in 2011, the first line with the new branding “Tzen” opened out in the southern suburbs. In 2024, the second line will open. The Tzen 4 will connect with the Tzen 1, several stations on the RER D, and the new tramway line 12. It’s the first bus line in the region with bi-articulated buses. For the layman, that means a doubly bendy bus, composed of three parts. Metro I’ve saved the most exciting developments for last. After a long period in which metro developments were limited to small extensions of one or two stations, Paris is getting two huge expansions this year. Line 11 extension In the first, coming in late spring, line 11 will almost double in length, with 6 new stations on 5.4 km of new line, improving connections for the densely populated inner suburbs to Paris’s east. The extension features connections with the RER and, in future, tramway line 1 and metro line 15; an aerial station on a stylish 600-metre viaduct; and a station in Les Lilas named after late singer Serge Gainsbourg, who famously sang about a metro ticket inspector in the town. In June 2023, in preparation for the extension, brand new MP 14 trains began to appear on the line. At the time of writing, a few MP 59 trains, dating all the way back to 1967, are still in circulation. But these trains, the oldest on the network, will soon be entirely replaced by the slick walk-through MP 14. A brand-new MP 14 at line 11's terminus of Châtelet on its first day. Note the older MP 59 train behind it. Capitaine AdBlock [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Line 14 extension The second extension will also double the length of an existing line. This time, it’s line 14. The 14 opened in 1998 as a relief line on Paris’s busy east-west axis, offering fast travel times between the 13th arrondissement and the 8th, via the Gare de Lyon and Châtelet. It’s since been extended three times, including a major northern extension at the end of 2020 serving the rapidly developing Clichy-Batignolles neighbourhood and the town of Saint-Ouen. The line measured 8.6 km in 2020. Today, it’s 14.5 km long. But from June this year, line 14 will span 30 km, making it, by a large margin, Paris’s longest metro line. The extension will take trains south all the way to Orly airport, and one stop north to Saint-Denis. It will thus carry visitors to the heart of the summer’s Olympic Games. Like on line 11, new trains have been introduced to prepare for the extension. These new 8-car vehicles are the self-driving version of the MP 14s now on line 11, and replaced 6-car trains which have been handed down to line 4. The last of these was delivered in March 2023. Line 4 automation The first self-driving trains arrived on line 4 in December 2022, from which time they spent a year sharing the line with human-driven stock. Last month, the process was finally completed. Work is still underway to modernise some stations, and the automation needs some fine-tuning. But there are no more human drivers on the line. New trains on line 6 The automation of line 4 left behind some human-driven trains with plenty of life left in them. The MP 89 was introduced on line 1 in the late 1990s, and passed down to line 4 in 2011, when line 1 was automated. Now, they are being refurbished and reduced in length for use on line 6, replacing MP 73 trains which have been in service since 1974. The first hand-me-downs were delivered in January 2023; as of December, 10 of line 6’s 45 trains had been replaced. The Bir Hakeim bridge, next to the Eiffel Tower, is a must-see in Paris. But it's changing: where once you could watch an older MP 73 train passing over, it's increasingly common today – as here, in March 2023 – to see the newer MP 89. Cramos78 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Fare shenanigans To close, let’s talk about fares. Visitors to Paris during this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic games will have to pay a lot more than usual for public transport. A single metro/bus ticket will cost €4 instead of €2.15; and a weekly pass will cost €70 instead of €30.75. This has proven deeply controversial, especially since the original Olympic bid promised free transport to those with tickets to events. But the extra service being laid on for the Games – a 15% increase – will cost €200 million. The idea behind the measure is to make visitors pay for that increase in service, without hitting locals’ pockets. Parisians on monthly or annual passes are unaffected, as are those with the Navigo Liberté+, which bills passengers monthly for their usage the previous month. Those who only ride occasionally can also simply stock up in advance. Transit fares in the Paris region are anything but straightforward. Next time, I will dive more deeply into how we pay for public transport here. After that, we will close out this series with a look at what’s changing in the realm of personal transport: driving and active travel. Stay tuned by signing up for email updates below. What distinguishes RER and Transilien lines is that the RER’s trains run through tunnels in, and usually across, central Paris, whereas Transilien services run into Parisian terminals or, as in the case of the U and the new V, avoid the city proper entirely. ↩

2024-01-09T00:00:00+00:002024-01-09T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2024/01/09/transport-in-ile-de-france-a-new-year-retrospective-long-distance-trainsBenjamin Chadwick

2024 is set to be a big year for Paris. It’s hosting the Olympic Games for the first time in a century – and becoming only the second global city to host them for a third time. It’s also this year that the Notre Dame will reopen, five and a half years after its roof and spire went up in flames. 2023 was no small year either, with Paris most notably hosting many of the key games of the men’s Rugby World Cup. A lot is happening here in the transport sphere, too. So as is customary at Fabric of Paris, let’s start the year with a look back at the transport news of 2023, and a look ahead to what we can expect in the coming year. We’ll be breaking it down into three parts: long-distance trains, local public transport and private mobility. Today, we focus on changes to long-distance rail services from Paris. New night trains In December 2020, the state railways of France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria signed a landmark agreement to expand night trains across Europe. For Paris, this meant sleepers to Vienna from December 2021, and to Berlin from December 2023. The Nightjet service between Paris and Berlin duly launched last month. For now, it’s running three return journeys a week, much like its Viennese sister. But from next October, both trains will run every night in both directions. Paris also saw the return of a domestic night service last month, to Aurillac in the mountainous Auvergne region of southern France, after a 20-year absence. This brings the number of Intercités de Nuit domestic sleeper trains to 8. An Intercités de Nuit train at Narbonne, en route to the Spanish border at Cerbère, in 2015. Alfenaar [CC BY-SA 2.0] via Flickr New high-speed service to Berlin Originally touted for 2023, high-speed trains to Berlin have been pushed back to 2024. From December of this year, passengers between Paris and the German capital will be able to choose between a night train taking 14 hours and a direct TGV taking 7 hours. This is one hour quicker than the current fastest route, which involves a transfer at Frankfurt or Karlsruhe. New low-cost trains In last year’s new year retrospective, we looked at Ouigo Train Classique, a low-cost service operating with conventional (as opposed to high-speed) vehicles. This year, Bordeaux and Rennes will be added to the list of destinations. The journey from Paris to Bordeaux takes around two hours by TGV; with this new service, it will take approximately five. Rennes will require a four-hour journey, compared with one and a half by high-speed train. Tickets cost between €10 and €30. A Ouigo Train Classique on the route to Nantes. Cramos [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons The first international Ouigo Train Classique might also launch in 2024, although it’s possible this will have to wait for next year. It will operate from Paris to Brussels. More competition for the SNCF In January 2022, we reported how Italian national operator Trenitalia had begun operating on the French network, linking Paris with Milan via Lyon and Turin. This meant Italy’s Frecciarossa trains were in direct competition with the SNCF’s TGVs, particularly on the important Paris-Lyon segment. In 2024, another national operator will enter the fray: Spain’s Renfe. After its partnership with the SNCF came to an end in 2022, Renfe began operating trains in France in summer 2023, linking Lyon with Barcelona and Marseille with Madrid. From September 2024, they plan to extend as far as Paris. They will thus be entering into direct competition with their erstwhile partner for journeys between Paris and Barcelona, as well as the lucrative domestic route between Paris and Marseille. And they will be competing with both the SNCF and Trenitalia between Paris and Lyon. A Renfe train between Marseille and Madrid stops at Narbonne in 2017. Until 2022, the Spanish and French national operators were partners. Falk2 [CC BY-SA 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons Problems on the Milan route About that Trenitalia service: a landslide in the French Alps last August blocked all services on the route used by both the SNCF’s TGVs and Trenitalia’s trains between Paris and Milan. Passenger to northern Italy have been having to travel via Switzerland – or by plane. From tomorrow – 10 January – services will resume, but although passengers can buy through tickets, these include a replacement bus service in the mountains. The line isn’t set to reopen until the summer. Train-ferry combination tickets to Ireland Want to avoid flying to Ireland? New combination tickets will make that easier. Passengers will be able to buy through tickets all the way to Dublin and Cork and beyond, via the ferry ports of Cherbourg and Roscoff. Work has already been done to facilitate connections between the stations and the ferry terminals. Unfortunately, the connection has to be made by bus. An Irish Ferries ship spotted at Cherbourg, Normandy in 2010. Gary Bembridge [CC BY 2.0] via Flickr New cheap rail pass Finally: this year could see the creation of a new rail pass, offering unlimited journeys on TER regional trains and Intercités services across the country. Modelled on Germany’s 49 € monthly Deutschlandticket, this would allow people to travel as much as they like around France, as long as they avoid high-speed services. Transport minister Clément Beaune has said he wants this in place by the summer. But not everyone believes it will happen, as it’s unclear where the money will come from. Personally, I’ll be very surprised if it’s valid during the Olympics. Next time, we will look at what changed on the local transit network in 2023, and what we can expect for 2024. There’s a lot of news, so you won’t want to miss it. Subscribe to email updates below to make sure you don’t.

2023-12-19T00:00:00+00:002023-12-19T00:00:00+00:00https://fabricofparis.com/2023/12/19/the-second-annual-fabric-of-paris-quizBenjamin Chadwick

Last year, we began a new seasonal tradition: an annual Paris quiz, with one question for each of the city’s 20 arrondissements. Today, we continue that tradition. Like last year, I’ve gone low-tech, letting you calculate your own score. The answers are at the bottom of the page, but if you prefer to reveal the answer after each question, there are links to help you jump between the sections. I’ve left ample gaps so you can avoid spoilers. I don’t expect the quiz to be easy, but I do expect it to be a chance to discover a few facts about this great city, Fabric of Paris-style. Enjoy, and good luck!