RER

Paris public transport Métro lines line 1 line 7bis line 2 line 8 line 3 line 9 line 3bis line 10 line 4 line 11 line 5 line 12 line 6 line 13 line 7 line 14 RER lines line A line D line B line E line C Suburban rail (Transilien) Saint-Lazare Nord La Défense Est Montparnasse Lyon Airport shuttles CDGVAL Orlyval Bus Bus (RATP) Noctilien   Bus (Optile)   Tramway Tramway T1 Tramway T2 Tramway T3 Tramway T4

The RER (Réseau Express Régional, IPA: [ɛʀøɛʀ], "Regional Express Network") is a rapid transit system serving Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 1 was the first line of the Paris Métro in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 7bis is the second shortest line of the metro operating in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 2 was the second metro line built in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 8 is one of 16 metro lines in Paris, France. Paris Metro Line 3 is one of 16 metro lines of the Paris metro Paris Métro Line 9 is one of 16 metro lines in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 3bis is the shortest line of the Paris metro system Paris Métro Line 10 is one of 16 metro lines in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 4 is the second busiest metro line serving Paris. Paris Métro Line 11 is one of 16 metro lines built in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 5 is one of the 16 metro lines built in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 12 is one of 16 metro lines in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 6 is one of 16 Paris metro lines Line 6 forms the southern part of a circular metro route (with line 2 forming the northern half Paris Métro Line 13 is one of 16 metro lines built in Paris, France. Paris Métro Line 7 is one of 16 metro lines of the Paris, France metro Paris Métro Line 14 of Paris metro crosses the center of Paris and currently runs between the Saint Lazare and Olympiades stations The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER E is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The Transilien is the brand name for railway services of the SNCF -owned railway network operating within Paris' Île-de-France région. Transilien Paris &ndash Saint-Lazare is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network Transilien Paris &ndash Nord is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network Transilien La Défense is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network Transilien Paris &ndash Est is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network Transilien Paris &ndash Montparnasse is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network Transilien Paris &ndash Lyon is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network CDGVAL is a free automatic shuttle service at Charles de Gaulle International Airport with two lines a first line which opened on April 4 2007 and a second on June 27 Orlyval is a small automatic metro which runs a shuttle service to Paris 's Orly Airport from the RER network with which it connects at RATP operates the majority of buses in Paris, and a significant number of lines in its suburbs Noctilien is the Night bus service in Paris and its agglomeration Optile ( Organisation Professionnelle des Transports d'Île-de-France, or Professional Transport Organisation of Île-de-France) is a Public transport organisation Tramways are operated in Paris by its public transport authority RATP, which also operates the Paris Métro and most bus services. Tramway line T1 is a Tramway just outside the proper limits of Paris, connecting Saint-Denis with Noisy-le-Sec, parallel to the Paris northern Tramway line T2 ( Trans Val-de-Seine) is a Tramway just outside the limits of Paris proper connecting La Défense with Issy-les-Moulineaux Tramway line T3 is the first modern tramway in Paris proper Opened on December 16 2006, it is known as the Tramway des Maréchaux because it Tramway line T4 is a Tram-train line just outside the limits of Paris proper operating in part on SNCF lines connecting Bondy ''RER'' station A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The RER is an integration of a modern city-centre subway and a pre-existing set of regional rail lines. Within the city of Paris, the RER serves as an express network, offering multiple connections with the Paris Métro. The central part of the RER was completed through a massive civil engineering effort between 1962 and 1977, and features some unusually spacious, deep stations. In 2007 the network consisted of five lines: A, B, C, D and E. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER E is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER is still expanding — Line E was opened in 1999, and is a likely candidate for extension.

The RER currently serves 258 stops and runs over 587 km (365 miles) of track, including 76. 5 km (48 miles) underground. Thirty-three stops are within the city of Paris. Each line crosses the city almost exclusively underground and on dedicated tracks. Some parts of RER lines are operated by the city transport authority that operates the Métro (RATP) and others by the national rail company (SNCF); the differences are of little concern to riders during normal operations because of the seamless fare structure and absence of transfers at SNCF/RATP boundaries. The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation SNCF ( Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) (French National Railway Company is a French public enterprise In 2004, 782. 9 million journeys were made on the RER.

The RATP operates 66 RER stations, Line B south of Gare du Nord, (all south branches) and line RER A (all east branches), and the west branch to Saint Germain en Laye from Nanterre Prefecture. All RER track on lines RER A and RER B within Paris are maintained and operated by RATP.

SNCF RER D interlaces with RER B RATP rolling stock by sharing RATP track slots on line RER B between Gare du Nord and Chatelet. On the sections of shared track, each company operates separately. Therefore, the SNCF RER operates on RFF track and the RATP on its own. Of these RATP RER stations, 9 possess interchanges with Metro lines, and 9 with the Transilien SNCF service. ^[1]

The RATP celebrated the 30th anniversary of the opening of the RER A and RER B junction December 8, 2007.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Pioneering 1.3 Completion 1.4 Finance 2 Maps 3 Trains 4 Lines 5 Stations 6 Usage 7 Future developments 8 International comparison 9 See also 10 Bibliography 11 Notes 12 External links

History

Origins

The origins of the RER can be traced back to the 1936 Ruhlmann-Langewin plan of the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (Metropolitan Railway Company of Paris) for a wide-bodied "métropolitain express" (express metro). The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris ( Paris Metropolitan Railway Company) or CMP, was the forerunner of the RATP, the company managing A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway The CMP's post-war successor, the RATP, revived the scheme in the 1950s, and in 1960 an interministerial committee decided to go ahead with construction of a first, east-west, line. The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation As its instigator, the RATP was granted authority to run the new link and the SNCF ceded operation of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye line (to the west of Paris) and the Vincennes line (to the east). The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation SNCF ( Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) (French National Railway Company is a French public enterprise For treaties with this name see Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (disambiguation Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the western The embryonic (and as yet unnamed) RER was not properly conceived until the 1965 Schéma directeur d'aménagement et d'urbanisme, which foresaw an "H"-shaped network with two north-south routes. Only a single north-south axis crossing the Left Bank has so far come to fruition, although the Métro's Line 13 has been extended to perform a similar function.

Pioneering

In the first phase of construction, the Saint-Germain and Vincennes lines became the ends of the east-west Line A, whose central section was opened station by station between 1969 and 1977. The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France On its completion Line A was joined by the initial southern leg of the north-south Line B. The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France During this first phase, six new stations were built, three entirely underground and all on a grand scale. The RER ( R éseau E xpress R égional, ɛʀøɛʀ "Regional Express Network" is a Rapid transit system in France serving

Construction was ceremonially inaugurated by Robert Buron, Minister for Public Works, at the Pont de Neuilly on 6 July 1961, four years before the publication of the official network blueprint. Robert Buron ( 27 february 1910 - 28 april 1973) was a French politician and Minister of Finance from 20 January 1955 to Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The rapid expansion of the La Défense business district in the west made this western section of the new east-west route a priority. La Défense is a major Business district for the city of Paris, bordering Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of the city itself Such was the scale of the work that it was not until 12 December 1969 that the first new station — and the RER name — was inaugurated, at Nation on the eastern section. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Nation is a station of the Paris Métro and of Île-de-France 's regional RER. Nation thus became temporarily the new terminus of the Vincennes line from Boissy. A few weeks later came the long-awaited opening of the western line from Étoile (not yet renamed after Charles de Gaulle) to La Défense. Charles de Gaulle — Étoile is a station of the Paris Métro and of the RER urban rail network Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French La Défense is a station of the Paris Métro, RER, and Transilien suburban rail lines A simple shuttle service, this western section was extended eastward to the newly-built central Auber station on 23 November 1971, and westward on 1 October 1972 to Saint-Germain-en-Laye through a connection to the Saint-Germain-en-Laye line, the oldest railway line into Paris, at Nanterre. Auber is a station on Line A of the RER in Paris Opened on 23 November 1971 Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Events 331 BC - Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Saint Germain-en-Laye is the main Railway station serving the royal city of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France.

The RER network truly came into being on December 9, 1977 with the joining of the Nation-Boissy and Auber-Saint-Germain-en-Laye segments as the eastern and western halves of the RER Line A at Châtelet - Les Halles in the heart of Paris. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Nation is a station of the Paris Métro and of Île-de-France 's regional RER. Auber is a station on Line A of the RER in Paris Opened on 23 November 1971 Saint Germain-en-Laye is the main Railway station serving the royal city of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. Châtelet – Les Halles (pronounced /ʃat(əlɛ le al/ is a major commuter train hub in Paris. The southern Ligne de Sceaux was simultaneously extended from Luxembourg to meet Line A at Châtelet – Les Halles, becoming the new Line B. "La Ligne de Sceaux " (The Sceaux Line was a railway line in France running from Paris to some of its southern suburbs including Sceaux from Luxembourg is an RER station in Paris, France. Lines serving this station RER Line B The system of line letters was introduced to the public on this occasion, though it had been used internally at RATP and SNCF for some time.

Completion

A second phase, from the end of the 1970s, was of more soberly paced completion. The SNCF gained the right to operate its own routes, which became lines C, D and E. Extensive sections of suburban track were added to the network but only four new stations were built. Of these, two were comparable in audaciousness to those of the 1970s. The network was completed in the following stages:

• Line C (following the Left Bank of the Seine) was added in 1979, involving the construction of a short cut-and-cover link between Invalides and Musée d'Orsay. The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Invalides is a station of the Paris Métro and RER, located near and named after Les Invalides. Musée d'Orsay is a station of the Paris RER, named after the Musée d'Orsay.

• Line B extension to the Gare du Nord (1981) and the north (1983) was effected by a new deep tunnel from Châtelet - Les Halles. Châtelet – Les Halles (pronounced /ʃat(əlɛ le al/ is a major commuter train hub in Paris.

• Line D (north to south-east, via Châtelet – Les Halles) was completed in 1995, using a new deep tunnel between Châtelet – Les Halles and Gare de Lyon. The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The Gare de Lyon is one of the six large railway termini in Paris, France. No new building work was necessary at Châtelet – Les Halles, since, in an example of superb planning, additional platforms for Line D had been built at the time of the station's construction 20 years earlier.

• Line E was added in 1999, connecting the north-east with Gare Saint-Lazare by means of a new deep tunnel from Gare de l'Est. The RER E is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France See also Gare de l'Est (Paris Métro The fr '''Gare de l'Est''' (" East station " in English) is one of the six large SNCF termini

Finance

Two aspects of the RER's pioneering phase in the 1960s and 1970s are particularly noteworthy. The first is the spectacular scale and expense of the enterprise. For example, FRF 2 billion were committed to the project in the budget of 1973 alone. The franc (represented by the franc sign ₣ or more commonly just F) is a former Currency of France. This equates to roughly € 1. 37 billion in 2005 terms, and closer to double that as a proportion of the region's (then much smaller) economic output. ^[2] This and subsequent spending is partly explained by the regional transport contribution, a small levy made on businesses that evidently benefit from the vast labour market put at their disposal by the RER. This peculiarly French invention was passed by a law in June 1971 and has been a permanent source of revenue for transport investment ever since.

Second, it is striking how little public consultation was made over such expenditures and tax innovations. Contrary to the lively public debate that accompanied the building of the Métro 70 years previously, the RER aroused little media attention and was essentially decided behind the closed doors of cabinet meetings. The will, and even idealism, of a handful of people, notably Pierre Giraudet, Director-General of the RATP, proved decisive in persuading ministers to grant credits. So too did the united front presented by the RATP and SNCF and their success at keeping within their budgets. Given the subsequent success of the RER, the investment can be considered money well spent.

Maps

Trains

The predominance of suburban SNCF track on the RER network explains why RER trains drive on the left, like SNCF trains (except in Alsace-Moselle), contrary to the Métro where trains drive on the right. Alsace-Moselle is the current legal name of the Alsace-Lorraine territory the part of France that was part of Germany from 1871 to 1919 (and then RER trains run by the two different operators share the same track infrastructure, a practice called interconnection. On the RER, interconnection required the development of specific trains (MI 79 series for Materiel d'Interconnexion 1979, and MI 2N series for Materiel d'Interconnexion à 2 niveaux (double-deck interconnection stock)) capable of operating under both 1. MI 2N ( Matériel d'Interconnexion à 2 Niveaux in French literally Double-decker Interconnection Hardware is a type of Electric multiple unit running on the French 5 kV direct current on the RATP network and 25 kV / 50 Hz alternating current on the SNCF network. The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation The MS 61 series (Matériel Simple 1961) can be used only on the 1. 5 kV DC network.

The RER's tunnels have unusually large cross-sections. This is due to a 1961 decision to build according to a standard set by the Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer, with space for overhead catenary power supply to trains. The International Union of Railways &ndash more generally known as the UIC, from its French name Union Internationale des Chemins de fer &ndash is an In Physics and Geometry, the catenary is the theoretical Shape of a hanging flexible Chain or Cable when supported at its ends and Single-track tunnels measure 6. 30 m across and double-track tunnels up to 8. 70 m, meaning a cross-sectional area of up to 50 square metres, larger than that of the stations on many comparable underground rail networks. ^[3]

Lines

Paris RER lines

Line Name		Opened	Last extension	Stations served	Length	Average Interstation	Journeys made (per annum)
	Line A	1977	1994	46	108. The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) 5 km / 67. 5 miles	2,411 m	272,800,000
	Line B	1977	1981	47	80. The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 0 km / 49. 8 miles	1,739 m	165,100,000
	Line C	1979	2000	85	185. The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. 6 km / 115. 5 miles	2,184 m	140,000,000
	Line D	1987	1995	59	160. The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 0 km / 99. 6 miles	2,807 m	145,000,000
	Line E	1999	2003	21	52. The RER E is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. 3 km / 32. 5 miles	2,615 m	60,000,000

Stations

Ten new stations have been built under the heart of Paris since the 1960s as part of the RER project. The six stations of Line A opened between 1969 and 1977 are:

• Nation (1969): deep construction at the Place de la Nation
• Charles de Gaulle - Étoile (1970): deep construction at the Arc de Triomphe
• La Défense (1970): near-surface construction beneath the site of the yet-to-be-built Grande Arche de la Défense, just outside the Paris city boundary
• Auber (1971): deep construction near Gare Saint-Lazare; once the largest underground station in the world
• Châtelet - Les Halles (1977): near-surface construction on the site of the former marketplace, today perhaps the largest underground station in the world
• Gare de Lyon (1977): near-surface construction beneath and alongside the main-line SNCF station

Some controversy followed the construction of the Line A. The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France Nation is a station of the Paris Métro and of Île-de-France 's regional RER. Charles de Gaulle — Étoile is a station of the Paris Métro and of the RER urban rail network The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle also known as the Place de l'Étoile. La Défense is a station of the Paris Métro, RER, and Transilien suburban rail lines The Grande Arche de la Fraternité is a Monument in the business district of La Défense to the west of Paris. Auber is a station on Line A of the RER in Paris Opened on 23 November 1971 Châtelet – Les Halles (pronounced /ʃat(əlɛ le al/ is a major commuter train hub in Paris. The Gare de Lyon is one of the six large railway termini in Paris, France. Using the model of the existing Métro, and unlike any other underground network in the world, engineers elected to build the three new deep stations (Étoile, Auber and Nation) as single monolithic halls with lateral platforms and no supporting pillars. Charles de Gaulle — Étoile is a station of the Paris Métro and of the RER urban rail network Auber is a station on Line A of the RER in Paris Opened on 23 November 1971 Nation is a station of the Paris Métro and of Île-de-France 's regional RER. A hybrid solution of adjacent halls was rejected on the grounds that it "completely sacrificed the architectural aspect" of the oeuvre. ^[4] The scale in question was vast: the new stations cathédrales were up to three times longer, wider and taller than Métro stations, and hence 20 or 30 times more voluminous. Most importantly, unlike the Métro they were to be constructed entirely underground. The decision turned out to be expensive - around FFr 8 billion for the three stations, equivalent to € 1. 2 billion in 2005 terms, with the two-level Auber the costliest of the three. Auber is a station on Line A of the RER in Paris Opened on 23 November 1971 ^[5] The comparison was obvious and unfavourable with London's Victoria Line, a deep line of 22 km constructed during the same period using a two-tunnel approach at vastly lower cost. Victoria Line train leaving depotjpg|thumb|right|300px|1967 Stock train leaving Northumberland Park Depot]] The Victoria line is part of the London Underground However, the three stations represent undeniable engineering feats and are noticeably less claustrophobic than traditional underground stations.

Only two stations were inaugurated to complete Lines B, C and D:

• Gare du Nord (1982): near-surface construction on two levels

• St-Michel - Notre-Dame (1988): deep construction on an existing stretch of the Line B between Luxembourg and Châtelet - Les Halles with two tunnels, common in all other deep underground systems but unique in Paris. The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The Gare du Nord ("Paris North station" is one of the six large terminus stations of the SNCF 's main line network in Paris. Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame is a station of the Paris RER, serving Line B and Line C. Luxembourg is an RER station in Paris, France. Lines serving this station RER Line B Châtelet – Les Halles (pronounced /ʃat(əlɛ le al/ is a major commuter train hub in Paris. The station was actually built when the Luxembourg_Châtelet tunnel was dug as an enlargement of the tunnel itself. Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by As this station is under the Seine river, it has a very narrow platform much alike London Underground stations, and does not sport the usual architectural expanse of other stations. The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie The London Underground is a Metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

Two stations were added to the network as part of Line E in the 1990s. The RER E is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France They are notable for their lavishly spacious deep construction, a technique not used since Auber. Auber is a station on Line A of the RER in Paris Opened on 23 November 1971 Although similar to the three 1960s "cathedral stations" of Line A, their passenger traffic has so far proved vastly lower.

• Magenta (1999): deep construction serving both Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est

• Haussmann - Saint-Lazare (1999): deep construction serving Gare Saint-Lazare and Auber

Usage

The social and economic impact of the RER is difficult to overstate. Magenta is a station of the Paris réseau express régional d'Île-de-France, located in the tenth arrondissement of Paris See also Gare de l'Est (Paris Métro The fr '''Gare de l'Est''' (" East station " in English) is one of the six large SNCF termini Haussmann - Saint-Lazare is a station on the RER in Paris Opened on 12 July 1999 as the terminus of the new Line E, it is situated beneath Journey times, particularly on east-west and north-south routes, have been cut spectacularly (and thanks to the cross-platform connection at Châtelet - Les Halles, even "diagonal" trips are rapid). Châtelet – Les Halles (pronounced /ʃat(əlɛ le al/ is a major commuter train hub in Paris. As a result, the network has been an extraordinary popular success since its opening.

Lines A and B reached saturation relatively quickly, exceeding by far all traffic expectations: up to 55,000 passengers per hour in each direction on Line A, the highest such figure in the world outside Japan. The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France ^[6] Despite a frequency of more than one train every two minutes, made possible by the installation of digital signalling in 1989, and the partial introduction of double-decker trains since 1998, the central stations of Line A are critically crowded at peak times. ^[7] Since both Métro and surface transport are equally congested at these times (and significantly slower), the RER's value to the economy of Île de France cannot be in doubt. Île-de-France ( pronounced /il d̪ə fʁɑ̃s/ literally "Island of France" is one of the twenty-six administrative regions of France.

Used for leisure journeys, the RER represents no less of a revolution. By bringing far-flung suburbs within easy reach of central Paris, the network has significantly aided the reintegration of the traditionally insular capital with its periphery. The evidence of this social impact can be seen at Châtelet - Les Halles, whose neighbourhood is now crowded with suburbanites on evenings and weekends. Châtelet – Les Halles (pronounced /ʃat(əlɛ le al/ is a major commuter train hub in Paris.

Future developments

Extensions to the RER focus on Line E, which ends at Haussmann - Saint-Lazare, serving only one side of Paris, unlike all other RER lines. Haussmann - Saint-Lazare is a station on the RER in Paris Opened on 12 July 1999 as the terminus of the new Line E, it is situated beneath Various Line E extensions have been proposed:

• eastwards from Chelles-Gournay to Esbly and Meaux
• eastwards from Tournan to Coulommiers
• westwards from Haussmann - St Lazare to Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche and Versailles Rive-Droite, via a new station at Champs-Elysées - Clémenceau and Gare Montparnasse. Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche is a Town and commune west of Paris, in the Yvelines département, in the Île-de-France Versailles (vɛʀsaj in French) formerly de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important

A new Line E station has been proposed at Rue de l'Évangile on the approach to Gare de l'Est, with a tentative opening date of 2014. ^[8]

Older plans existed for a line F, which would connect Argenteuil to Rambouillet via existing tracks of the Saint-Lazare and Montparnasse rail networks. Argenteuil is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. Rambouillet is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. A new tunnel would be bored below Paris, with the creation of a station at Invalides. Invalides is a station of the Paris Métro and RER, located near and named after Les Invalides. The cost of the new tunnel, and the fact that Saint-Lazare and Montparnasse networks form a loop makes this project unlikely to happen.

International comparison

RER
Locale	Paris
Transit type	Rapid transit Regional rail
Began operation	1977
System length	587 km (365 mi)
No. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Various terms are used for Passenger rail lines and equipment of lines	5
No. of stations	256
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) (standard gauge)
Operator(s)	RATP, SNCF

The RER is often compared with other urban rail networks that serve outer suburbs while fully crossing the city. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation SNCF ( Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) (French National Railway Company is a French public enterprise Examples included the German and Austrian S-Bahnen, the Spanish Cercanías, and the RER networks of French-speaking Switzerland and (in construction) Brussels. This article has been partially translated from the German Wikipedia article Cercanías (θeɾkaˈnias is the name given to the Commuter rail systems of Spain 's major metropolitan areas Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is

However, there are two characteristics of the Paris RER that are not found in most other systems. Firstly, each RER line runs on independent dedicated track (except the tunnel between Gare du Nord and Châtelet, used by both lines B and D), with dedicated platforms in stations that are shared with other networks. This feature allows a high frequency, which on some lines exceeds that of the Paris Métro - a situation which in Europe is unique to Paris.

Secondly, the Paris RER serves almost exclusively the Paris urban area, reaching very few satellite towns. The exceptions are the Southern branch of line C and the outer sections of line D. The compactness of the Paris conurbation can account for a good deal of the RER's more limited reach, as can the sprawling nature of the suburban SNCF network. This also explains why the scheduled train frequencies on the RER central network are as high as on the Paris métro network; one train every 120 seconds on RER A during rush hour ^[9]. The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, France

See also

• List of rapid transit systems
• List of stations of the Paris RER
• List of stations of the Paris Métro
• Transportation in France

Bibliography

Notes

External links

• RATP (official, in French)
• RATP (official, in English)
• Interactive Map of the RER (from RATP's website)
• Interactive Map of the Paris métro (from RATP's website)
• MobIDF (unofficial, dedicated to the RER, in French)
• Metro-Pole (unofficial, dedicated to Paris public transport, in French)
• Navily (unofficial, dedicated to enthusiasts of Paris rail transport, in French)
• BBC News Online - France's answer to Crossrail

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