I am again to tell you about my eternal Paris. I have many many posts on Paris and this one was an occassional visit with no pictures a while back. However, it needs to be in my blog for the memories of always in my black and white series, no pictures. As always thank you for following my blog some since Nov 26, 2010. Therefore, here is my take on the Petite Ceinture of Paris !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Petite Ceinture line of Paris, or Little Belt, is a 32-km long double-track railway line encircling Paris within the Boulevards des Maréchaux. Although still part of the national railway network, it is now unused for most of its route. Opened in sections from 1852 to 1869, the Petite Ceinture initially allowed freight trains to bypass Paris, TheParisian passenger transport is maintained on part of the Auteuil line, integrated in 1988 into RER C to form the new Ermont – Eaubonne to Champ-de-Mars line. As for freight traffic, it continued until the 1990s. Within the national rail network, the Petite Ceinture constitutes the lines from La Rapée to Batignolles; from Pont-Cardinet to Auteuil-Boulogne (former Auteuil line); and from Auteuil-Boulogne to La Rapée, The petite ceinture is on the 20eme south of the rue de la Mare, in the 14eme between the promenade Broussais and the avenue du Général-Leclerc, in the 17eme along the boulevard Pereire ,and the rue Saussure ,and in the 12eme between the villa du Bel-Air ,and the rue des Meuniers. The SNCF gave to the city of Paris 22 km of the 32 km of the line.
A bit of history tell us that about ten years, each of them was able to establish, as it saw fit, their own terminal station on peripheral land that was still almost undeveloped: Saint-Lazare station, of the Compagnie de Paris in Saint Germain (1837); Montparnasse station, of the Compagnie de Versailles-Rive Gauche (1840); Austerlitz station, of the Compagnie de Paris in Orléans (1840); Gare du Nord, of the Compagnie du Nord (1846); Barrière d’Enfer station (Denfert-Rochereau station), of the Compagnie de Sceaux (1846); Lyon station, of the Compagnie de Paris in Lyon (1849); and Strasbourg (then Est) station of the Compagnie de Paris in Strasbourg (1849). The city of Paris began to build fortifications in 1841 to protect its new boundaries. It then became necessary to be able to supply them from within the fortified city, whether with soldiers, supplies or weapons. It was the government that became interested in connecting the Paris stations with a circular line whose route ran within the new fortified walls. Thus, on December 10, 1851, a decree declared the construction of a line between the Batignolles stations and the Orléans station to be of public utility. Simultaneously, a junction between La Chapelle and La Villette was granted by decree, also on December 10, 1851. An extension of the line between Batignolles and Auteuil was granted by an agreement passed on August 9, 1852. This agreement was approved, and the line was declared of public utility by a decree on the following August 18. The Auteuil line was opened on May 2, 1854 for a service that was limited to passengers until its integration into the Petite Ceinture in 1867. The extension of the belt railway on the left bank of the Seine between Auteuil and the Orléans station was declared of public utility by imperial decree. June 14, 1861. The Docks line, put into service in 1862, connects to the Petite Ceinture at the level of the Épinettes garage. The Petite Ceinture line is established along the boulevards des Maréchaux on viaducts or in trenches and sometimes in tunnels.
The petite Ceinture or little beltway around Paris of railroad tracks going for some 32 km running parallel to the boulevards des Maréchaux, The petite ceinture or the little beltway of Paris. It was an old railroad line built in 1852-1869, and closed down in 1993 (except the RER C segment) and long of 32 km. You can walk on it by Balard 15é, and see the garden or jardin partagés du Ruisseau 18é and my favorite walk in the 16é between the porte d’Auteuil and the Porte de la Muette for 1,2 kms. over roads see the portion of avenue Jean jaurés to porte d’Aubervilliers 19é . The Charonne station on rue de Bagnolet 20é was turned into a discothéque La Fléche d’Or (the name of the train that did London to Paris between 1926 and 1972). The old Auteuil station is now the Thai restaurant Mary Goodnight, 76 rue d’Auteuil. In the 20éme arrondissement of Paris, that a forest has grown, The City of Paris has purchase a former station of the Petite Ceinture to open a new section, from Cours de Vincennes to Rue Volga, and transform the whole into a new vast park, a beautiful wooded and vegetated space. An urban forest with 2000 new trees planted, but also a clearing and an opening onto the garden of the Charonne station.
The first section of the Petite Ceinture was put into service on December 11, 1852, from Batignolles to the tracks of the Compagnie du Nord at La Chapelle, then the commissionings followed one after the other: on March 25, 1854, from La Chapelle to Bercy, in 1867 the integration of the Auteuil line which had been opened independently in 1854, on February 25, 1867 the Rive Gauche railway (Auteuil to Ivry, via Grenelle), then the Champ de Mars branch line. The last section of the line was opened on March 25, 1869: a direct connection between Clichy ,and Courcelles (Auteuil line). The decision was then taken to eliminate passenger trains: it was effective on Monday, July 23, 1934. The Auteuil line (Pont-Cardinet – Auteuil section) remained in service, however, until 1985. Currently, 60% of the Petite Ceinture
route is in the open air, and the remaining 40% is underground, in a covered cut or in a tunnel.
In the Petite Ceinture, in addition to the 30 passenger buildings, 12 of which have now disappeared, the line also included five freight stations, which provided local traffic: Charonne-Marchandises, opened on September 15, 1855, subject to transformation work inaugurated on June 20, 1870 and destroyed in 1981; Paris-Gobelins, opened on May 15, 1903, redeveloped from 1970 to 1977 and now disused, covered by the Olympiades slab; La Glacière-Gentilly, opened on November 15, 1882, closed in 1991 to be used for Meteor testing and then destroyed as part of the work on the ZAC Gare de Rungis; Grenelle-Marchandises, opened on February 1, 1879, disused in 1976 then replaced by the headquarters of France Télévisions and the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital; and Belleville-Villette, operating in parallel with passenger reception and which included a triangular junction towards Paris-Abattoirs and Paris-Bestiaux, opened on July 15, 1856, the subject of transformation works inaugurated on July 27, 1868 and destroyed in 1988, two marshalling yards, which operated in parallel with passenger reception: Est-Ceinture, and La Rapée-Bercy, three stations assigned to cattle: Paris-Bestiaux, opened on October 18, 1867 and closed on December 31, 1977, and Paris-Abattoirs, opened on October 20, 1871 and closed on March 15, 1974; and Paris-Brancion, opened in 1903 to serve the Vaugirard slaughterhouses, closed in stages between 1976 and 1979.
The Petite Ceinture pedestrian access is strictly prohibited. However, several sections have gradually been opened to the public: the Petite Ceinture in the 16éme arrondissement, between the Auteuil and La Muette stations, since December 2007, with an extension in August 2019; the Petite Ceinture of the 15éme arrondissement, between Place Balard and Rue Olivier-de-Serres, since August-September 2013; the Petite Ceinture of the 13éme arrondissement, between the Charles-Trenet and Moulin-de-la-Pointe – Paul Quilès gardens, since January 2016; the Petite Ceinture of the 20éme arrondissement, between Rue des Couronnes and Rue de Ménilmontant, since November 2018; the Petite Ceinture of the 17éme arrondissement, Rue de Saussure and the connection with the Pereire-Levallois station tracks since July 2019; the Petite Ceinture of the 14éme arrondissement, between Rue Didot and Avenue du Général-Leclerc, since July 2019; the Petite Ceinture of the 12éme arrondissement, between Rue Rottembourg and Rue de Montempoivre, since August 2019; the Petite Ceinture of the 19éme arrondissemnt between the streets of Thionville and Ourcq, since March 2020, and between the avenue de Flandre and the rue Curial, since July 2020. the Bois de Charonne, between the Cours de Vincennes and the rue du Volga and connected to the garden of the Gare-de-Charonne, from July 2024. It is a 600-meter long promenade built on the railway line and a large over-width (more than 20 meters wide by 400 meters long). This 3.5-hectare park dedicated to walking meets many ecological challenges and includes a vast grove, clearings and large meadows where furniture is placed for the public. promenades plantées are based on the model of the Coulée verte René-Dumont, following the route of the old Bastille line. The René-Dumont greenway and the Promenade Pereire, and shared gardens are also accessible on certain sections of the 12-14, and 17-18eme arrondissements or districts.
The City of Paris on the Petite Ceinture eco walks : https://www.paris.fr/pages/la-petite-ceinture-et-ses-promenades-ecologiques-7855
The Association of the Petite Ceinture on its walks : https://petiteceinture.org/parcours-petite-ceinture/
A private site on the petite ceinture on information : https://www.petiteceinture-info.fr/-Approcher-.html
The Paris tourist office on the Petite Ceinture : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/la-petite-ceinture-p1047
There you go folks, another dandy beautiful story of my eternal Paris. I have criss cross them many and have many in my blog already, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Petite Ceinture of Paris !!! as I.
And remember happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 