So, written plenty on the airports, train stations, metro stations and the favorite bus lines as well as lately tramways of Paris. However, missing one that have rident as well , the RER of Paris. Therefore, here is my rendition to them in a brief format. I was going to do this post in my black and white series, however, found a picture! Here it goes on the RER C Foch in Paris. Hope you enjoy it and as I said at least they are cool to use with some above ground to see the beauty of Paris passing by.
The Île-de-France regional express network, commonly called “RER” is a rail-gauge public transport network serving Paris and its agglomeration , For historical reasons, part of the network is managed by RATP while the rest is part of the Transilien (SNCF) network. It has five lines RER A, B, C, D , and E.
A bit of history I like
In 1960, an interministerial committee launched the construction of a large gauge east-west railway line. Being at the origin of the idea, it was quite naturally the RATP which was responsible for operating the new line for which, with a view to its constitution, the SNCF gave it two lines that it operated: the Paris line. -Saint-Lazare to Saint-Germain-en-Laye to the west and the Paris-Bastille line to Marles-en-Brie ,also known as the Vincennes line to the east. It was not until 1965, that a true regional network was imagined. The construction of the first east-west line was launched on July 6, 1961 , and was carried out station after station across Paris from 1969 to 1977. It was not until December 12, 1969 that the first new station on the eastern section was inaugurated. at Nation, station which was opened to the public two days later, December 14. This first section is called the Regional Metro (the future RER). The axis of line A was originally chosen to unload metro line 1 between Charles de Gaulle – Étoile and Nation stations, the most saturated axis of the network. However, the new RER line being much faster and serving the suburbs, it quickly attracted as many travelers to the point of reaching saturation itself., A few weeks later the long-awaited western section was opened between Étoile and La Defense. This simple initial shuttle was first extended eastward to the new Auber station on November 23, 1971, then westward on October 1, 1972 to Saint-Germain-en-Laye through its connection to Nanterre at the old line from Paris to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, On February 29, 1972, the regional metro is now designed to consist of three lines, the east-west transverse (future RER A line), a new transverse on the left bank created from existing sections (future RER C line) , the extension of the Sceaux line and its interconnection with a northern network line to be determined (future RER B line), as well as the construction of a new additional interconnected line (future RER D line). On December 9, 1977, the junction between the two sections, western and eastern of the regional Metro, was achieved by the opening of the connection station Châtelet – Les Halles, until which was extended the line of Sceaux from Luxembourg, station located on the left bank, thus creating an embryo of the planned regional metro. Inaugurated by the President of the Republic Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, it made it possible to publicly launch the name of the rail network: “Réseau Express Régional” (RER), replacing Métro régional.
A bit of history and directions for the five RER lines.
On December 9, 1977, just named “RER A”, the line was extended to Noisy-le-Grand-Mont d’Est, the sixth underground and large-gauge station open to the public since 1969, On December 19, 1980, the branch de Noisy-le-Grand is extended in an easterly direction to Torcy station. The route serves the University of Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée, through the station of Noisy – Champs, the urban center of Noisiel, and crosses the ru de Maubués, between the last two stations of Lognes and Torcy, by a prestressed concrete viaduct. On December 18, 1985, the government signed a protocol with the Walt Disney Company establishing the conditions for the establishment of the Disneyland Paris leisure complex., Therefore, a new extension of line A, 11 km long, from Torcy to Chessy, to provide service to the new Walt Disney amusement park, which is to be established in the heart of the major cereal crops of the Brie zone in Seine et Marne dept 77, in the east of the new town of Marne-la-Vallée, on the territory of Chessy. On April 1, 1992, the line reached Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy, eleven days before the inauguration of the Disneyland park. In December 1992, Bussy-Saint-Georges station opened on the Marne-la-Vallée branch between Torcy and Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy stations. On June 14, 2001, the Serris-Montévrain – Val d’Europe station was put into service, between the Bussy-Saint-Georges and Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy stations, in order to serve a new district in full development.
The rail service to the new town of Cergy-Pontoise from the gare Saint-Lazare to Nanterre-Université in Houilles with viaduct over the Seine, the passage from three to five tracks of the section Houilles – Sartrouville – Saint-Lazare with a flyover, the borrowing of the Achères – Creil line with construction of a new station in Achères and double track of the bridge over the Seine, then a new section of 5 km crossing the Oise river to go towards the Vexin plateau and serve the underground central station of Cergy-Préfecture. On April 1, 1979, this new section was opened. The line was extended by 4 km in September 1985 to Cergy-Saint-Christophe (another work place for me) following the urbanization of the agglomeration. On May 29, 1989, the RER A arrived in Poissy via a new short branch, taking its source west of Maisons-Laffitte, on the Cergy line and serving only one intermediate stop called Achères -Grand Cormier , On August 29, 1994, the branch was extended from Cergy-Saint-Christophe to Cergy-le-Haut. The RER A crosses the Paris agglomeration from east to west, with several branches at the ends of a central section. It connects Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut and Poissy to the west, to Boissy-Saint-Léger and Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy to the east, passing through the heart of Paris.
The last very large-scale operation was the completion of the interconnection between the Sceaux line and the northern suburbs. Work started in 1976, it was to allow trains from the RER B line to reach Gare du Nord and then take the Mitry line and its branch serving Charles-de-Gaulle airport. This extension should thus allow a subsequent connection between the two major airports of Paris, Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly. On December 10, 1981, the RER B was extended from Châtelet – Les Halles to the Paris-Nord train station underground station. The RER B crosses the Parisian conurbation on a north-east / south-west axis, with several branches. It connects Aéroport Charles-de-Gaulle 2 TGV and Mitry – Claye to the north-east, to Robinson and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse to the south, passing through the heart of Paris. An extension of RER B from Mitry – Claye station to Dammartin – Juilly – Saint-Mard station was planned in phase 3 (horizon 2021-2027).
On September 30, 1979, the Invalides – Orsay tunnel was inaugurated, and the junction was put into service, creating the Transversale Rive Gauche, the result of the extension of the Versailles – Invalides line, which was extensively modernized on occasion to the old station of Orsay and the interconnection of the southwest and west suburbs. In 1980, it became line RER C , and was extended in May 1980 to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines thanks to the use, from Viroflay, of the Paris – Chartres line and the six-fold increase in tracks between Versailles-Chantiers and Versailles-Matelots (cargo station) in order to better separate the different types of traffic, The site started in 1985 and was completed in 1988 allowing the RER C to reach Argenteuil and Montigny – Beauchamp, from Champ de Mars. On August 28, 2000, the line was extended from Montigny – Beauchamp to Pontoise, capital of Val-d’Oise dept 95. The RER C crosses the Parisian agglomeration, with many branches. It connects to the west Pontoise, Versailles-Château-Rive-Gauche and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Montigny-le-Bretonneux on the one hand, and to the south Massy – Palaiseau, Dourdan – La Forêt and Saint-Martin- d’Étampes, as well as Versailles-Chantiers by an almost circular route, passing through the heart of Paris. The relocation of the terminus of the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Montigny-le-Bretonneux station to the Coignières station. This important project for the service of the agglomeration of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines such as the improvement of the service of La Verrière (my oldest train stop for school right next to it!) and Trappes stations, and control of traffic at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Montigny-le-Bretonneux train station, was however delayed due to the high infrastructure costs required to postponed the deadline for in service est, after 2030.
On September 27, 1987, the RER D line, following the extension of trains coming from Villiers-le-Bel from the Paris-Nord underground station to the Châtelet – Les Halles connection station, which already receives trains from lines A and B. The trains of the line are received on the three central tracks of Châtelet – Les Halles planned from the start In 1992, the construction of two one-way tunnels between Châtelet and Gare de Lyon, intended for the RER D is launched, in order to relieve congestion on the RER A, making it possible to connect the northern suburbs to the south-eastern suburbs. It allows the RER D to connect Orry-la-Ville – Coye to Melun and La Ferté-Alais, via the Parisian stations of Gare du Nord, Châtelet – Les Halles and Gare de Lyon A new station on the RER D is opened on December 15, 2013, at the crossroads of the towns of Créteil, Valenton and Choisy-le-Roi, near the Pompadour crossroads: Créteil-Pompadour station. The RER D serves a large part of the Île-de-France region along a north-south axis. It connects Orry-la-Ville – Coye and Creil in the north to Melun and Malesherbes in the south, passing through the heart of Paris. The opening of a new branch to the north, using an infrastructure to be created, known as the “Gonesse bar”, between the Villiers-le-Bel – Gonesse – Arnouville station and the Parc des Expositions station (RER B). This infrastructure would then allow service to Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, either by a connection with the RER B, or directly (in the case of sharing the infrastructure used by the RER B), while serving the triangle of Gonesse between Villiers-le-Bel – Gonesse – Arnouville station and Parc des Expositions to allow connection with the RER B. An intermediate station is planned at Gonesse.
Linking the eastern suburbs to gare Saint-Lazare station, the RER E line is the most recent in the network, The Éole project (for Est-Ouest-Liaison Express/ east west express connection) was started in 1993. The depth of the line is particularly important given the size of the Parisian soil, between 25 and 45 meters below the surface; it is authorized at 60 km / h. On the latter, two stations are comparable to the audacity of those of the 1970s and are particularly neat , these are Magenta and Haussmann – Saint-Lazare. On July 14, 1999 the new RER E line is put into service between the new Parisian underground station of Haussmann – Saint-Lazare and the station of Chelles – Gournay, located in the eastern suburbs of Paris, via among others, the new Parisian station of Magenta, also underground, On August 30, 1999, the line reached the station of Villiers-sur-Marne – Le Plessis -Treviso, following the commissioning of the second branch of the line from Noisy-le-Sec. On December 14, 2003, the line was extended from Villiers-sur-Marne – Le Plessis-Trévise to Tournan. A new station on the RER E was put into service on December 13, 2015, between Magenta and Pantin stations, in the 19éme arrondissement of Paris, at the corner of rue de Crimée and rue Gaston-Tessier, the Rosa-Parks station formerly called Evangile. It serves the Porte d’Aubervilliers district, replacing the station initially planned at La Villette – Aubervilliers, the station, which is located three minutes from Magenta and seven minutes from Haussmann – Saint-Lazare.
It is the only one of the five not to cross Paris right through. A new station on the RER E should be opened in 2027, between Boullereaux-Champigny station and Villiers-sur-Marne – Le Plessis-Trévise station, to connect with line 15 of the Grand Paris Express (Bry- Villiers-Champigny). The extension of the RER E line to the west of Paris, consists of extending the RER line, from Haussmann – Saint-Lazare station to Mantes-la Jolie station going through the business district of La Défense and Nanterre, by the year 2022, The project consists of extending the RER E line over 3.5 km, from Tournan station to Val Bréon, one of the largest logistics activity areas in Île-de-France region, The extension of the Chelles branch in Meaux is expected to enter into service after 2030.
The RER was done to provide off-peak service every ten minutes or quarter of an hour in an area of about 15 to 20 kilometers and every twenty minutes or half an hour in that of 40 to 50 kilometers around Paris. Outside Paris, although several suburban towns are served by both the metro and the RER, the two networks operate separately and serve different neighborhoods. The only counter-examples are La Défense and Saint-Ouen, the only RER stations in correspondence with the metro, outside Paris. In 2022, the Île-de-France regional express network consist of five lines, serving a total of 257 stopping points, including 33 in Paris, spread over 587 km of tracks, including 76.5 kilometers located underground, and this , mainly in its central part. The network has the particularity of being operated on certain sections by the RATP and on others by the SNCF. The points where the train passes from one operator to another is referred to as “interconnection”. There is one on the RER A at Nanterre-Préfecture station (for Cergy and Poissy branch trains only) and one on the RER B at Paris-Nord station.
The official RATP on the RER : https://www.ratp.fr/en/infos-trafic/rer
The official Transilien on the RER : https://www.transilien.com/fr/page-deplacements/plan-reseau-ile-de-france
The official Ïle de France Mobilités (magnify to see the RER lines): https://www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/le-reseau
There you go folks, another dandy way of transportation in my eternal Paris. OF course, you wondered why congestions with cars well the public transport development is very taxpayer expensive and not enough to cover the greater Paris metro area for years. Now with several streets turn into pedestrians the congestions will increase. Be aware of the jams and delays, even on the RER. Welcome to Paris. I happened to have tried the tramway RER B from Roissy CDG airport to Gare du Nord ,it was not better than the bus or car! Also, tried the RER C from ND ST Michel to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, a bit better but still the car is king for me. And have taken a couple times the RER A from Paris-Auberto Poissy; again nothing to it, the car is better. Anyway, hope you enjoy the post.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
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