| Line 1 |
| Year opened |
1900 |
| Last extension |
1992 |
| Rolling stock |
MP 89 |
| Stations served |
25 |
| Length |
16.6 km |
| Length |
10.3 mi |
| Average interstation |
692 m |
| Journeys made |
165,921,408 (per annum) |
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Paris Métro Line 1 was the first line of the Paris Métro in Paris, France. Line 1, whose first section was opened in 1900, now connects La Défense – Grande Arche to Château de Vincennes. With a 16.5 km length, it constitutes an "East-West" route transportation important for the City of Paris. Excluding RER lines, it is the most utilised subway line network with 161 million travellers in 2004 and 561,000 people per day on average.[1]
History
Train at Bastille station in 1908
In November 1898, Paris decided to undertake preliminary work of the metro network with the construction of the first line of the Parisian subway system. Work lasted twenty months under the leadership of engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe and was financed by the municipality of Paris. The line was divided into eight parts distributed between several companies. On 19 July 1900, the line was opened between Porte Maillot and Porte de Vincennes to connect the various sites of the World Fair. Only eight stations were finalized and opened with the inauguration; ten more were gradually opened between 6 August and 1 September 1900. The line followed the east-west monument axis in Paris. These eighteen stations were entirely built under the control of engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe, the majority of them 75 metres long and 4.10 metres wide. In March 1934, the first extension into the suburbs brought service to Château of Vincennes towards the east.
Chronology
- July 19, 1900: Inauguration of line 1 between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot. Only 8 of the 18 planned stations were opened.
- August 6 and September 1, 1900: The other 10 stations of the line opened.
- March 24, 1934: The line was extended to the east from Porte de Vincennes to the castle of Vincennes.
- November 15, 1936: Porte Maillot station was rebuilt in order to allow a further extension of the line to the west.
A line 1 train near Pont de Neuilly
- April 29, 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. At the same time, stations were enlarged in order to accommodate 6-car trains instead of 5-car trains.
- April 1, 1992: The line was extended again to the west from Pont de Neuilly to La Défense business district.
Future
It is planned to convert the line to a fully automated system (similar to Line 14) by the end of 2010.[2] It will be the first heavy duty line to be converted without interrupting traffic, with both automatic (MP 05) and manual (MP 89 CC) rolling stock running simultaneously till enough automatic rolling stock is available, thanks to the SAET system.
A western extension of Line 1 from La Défense station to the center of Nanterre is being considered. An eastern extension to Rigollots and later to Val de Fontenay is also being investigated.
Facts
Because of less advanced building techniques of the 1900s, Line 1 of the Paris metro is the closest line to the surface; many stations have a steel beam structure with both arched and beam sections maintaining the large station roof. The line was constructed using the "cut and cover" method and, as a result, follows the line of the streets above. This was done to both facilitate construction and avoid the adjacent buildings' cellars. Bastille station is located above the tunnel entrance of the Canal Saint-Martin, just below the pavement of the Place de la Bastille.
Unlike older trains on other lines, the cars of line 1 trains are all interconnected, allowing people to move between cars. This reduces the number of seats per car and increases standing room.
Despite being almost entirely underground (except Bastille station and for the Seine-crossing at Pont de Neuilly), Line 1 is fully covered by mobile phone networks.
Map and Stations
Map of Paris Métro Line 1.
Stations renamed
Tourism
Line 1 passes near several places of interest:
Gallery
See also
References
External links
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