   #copyright

RER

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport


   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 an urban rail network in the Île-de-France région, notably
   Paris and its agglomeration.

   The RER is a hybrid transportation system, being an integration of
   modern city-centre subway and pre-existing regional rail. Within the
   city of Paris, the RER serves as an express network offering multiple
   connections to the Paris Métro. The essential central part of the RER
   was completed by a massive civil engineering effort between 1962 and
   1977, and features some unusually deep and spacious stations. The RER
   network is still expanding today — the new line E was inaugurated in
   1999. As of 2006 the RER comprises five lines: A, B, C, D and E.

   The RER currently serves 246 stops and runs over 571 km (355 miles) of
   track. 33 stops are served inside the city of Paris itself. Each line
   crosses the city proper almost exclusively underground and on dedicated
   tracks. Due to its hybrid nature, some parts of RER lines are operated
   by the city transport authority managing the Métro ( RATP) and others
   by the national rail company ( SNCF). In 2004, 782.9 million journeys
   were made on the five lines of the RER.

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
   (Company of the Metropolitan railway of Paris) for a wide-sectioned
   "métropolitain express" (express metro). As 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. As its chief inspiration, the RATP was granted
   authority to run the new link and the SNCF thus ceded operation of the
   Saint-Germain-en-Laye line (to the west of Paris) and the Vincennes
   line (to the east). The embryonic (and as yet unnamed) RER was
   conceived in the 1965 Schéma directeur d'aménagement et d'urbanisme as
   an "H"-shaped rapid transit network (that is, 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. On its completion
   the Line A was joined by an initial southern leg of the north-south
   Line B. During this first phase six new stations were built, three
   entirely underground and all on a grand scale.
   The RER A at Charles de Gaulle - Étoile.
   Enlarge
   The RER A at Charles de Gaulle - Étoile.

   Construction was ceremonially inaugurated by Robert Buron, Minister for
   Public Works, at the Pont de Neuilly on 6 July 1961. The rapid
   expansion of the La Défense business district in the west made this
   western section of the new east-west route a priority. 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. 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. 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 by means of connection to the
   Saint-Germain-en-Laye line (the oldest railway line in France) at
   Nanterre.

   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 the
   just-completed hub station of Châtelet - Les Halles in the heart of
   Paris. The southern Ligne de Sceaux was simultaneously extended from
   its terminus at Luxembourg to meet Line A at Châtelet – Les Halles,
   becoming the new 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 already.

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
   outright, which were to become 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 as it is today 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.

     * Line B extension to the Gare du Nord (1981) and the north (1983)
       was effected by means of a new deep tunnel from Châtelet - Les
       Halles.

     * 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. No new building work was necessary at
       Châtelet – Les Halles, since — in an example of superb planning —
       additional platforms for an eventual 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.

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, 2 billion  FRFn were committed to the
   project in the budget of 1973 alone. This equates to roughly €1.3
   billion in 2005 terms, and closer to double that when stated as a
   proportion of the region's (then much smaller) economic output
   (Gerondeau C, 2003). This and subsequent spending is partly explained
   by the regional versement transport ("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 which 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, Directeur
   Général 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 in retrospect perhaps be
   considered money well spent.

Map

   Central network of the RER at a geographically accurate scale
   Enlarge
   Central network of the RER at a geographically accurate scale
   Vector map of the network
   Enlarge
   Vector map of the network

Trains

   The RER B at La Plaine - Stade de France.
   Enlarge
   The RER B at La Plaine - Stade de France.

   The overall predominance of suburban SNCF track on the RER network
   explains why RER trains drive on the left, like SNCF trains (except in
   Alsace-Moselle), and contrary to the Métro where trains drive on the
   right. 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 (MI79
   series for Materiel d'Interconnexion 1979, and MI2N series for Materiel
   d'Interconnexion à 2 niveaux (two-level interconnection stock)) capable
   of operating under both the 1.5 kV direct current on the RATP network
   and the 25 kV / 50 Hz alternating current on the SNCF network. The MS61
   series (for 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. Single-track tunnels thus 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.

Lines

   CAPTION: Paris RER lines

   Line Name Opened Last
   extension Stations
   served Length Average
   Interstation Journeys made
   (per annum)
   Line A 1977 1994 46 108.5 km / 67.5 miles 2,411 m 272,800,000
   Line B 1977 1981 47 80.0 km / 49.8 miles 1,739 m 165,100,000
   Line C 1979 2000 86 185.6 km / 115.5 miles 2,184 m 140,000,000
   Line D 1987 1995 58 160.0 km / 99.6 miles 2,807 m 145,000,000
   Line E 1999 2003 21 52.3 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 site of
       the Arc de Triomphe
     * La Défense (1970): near-surface construction beneath the current
       site of the Grande Arche de la Défense, just outside the Paris
       perimeter
     * 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 mainline SNCF station

   Some controversy followed the construction of the Line A. 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) in the configuration of single monolithic
   halls with lateral platforms and no supporting pillars. A hybrid
   solution of adjacently-positioned halls was rejected on the grounds
   that it "completely sacrificed the architectural aspect" of the oeuvre
   (Gerondeau 2003, p31). Yet the scale in question was vast: the new
   stations cathédrales were to be 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 FFr1.2
   billion for the three stations, equivalent to €1.2 billion in 2005
   terms, with the two-level Auber the costliest of the three. 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. However, the three stations
   represent undeniable engineering feats and are noticeably less
   claustrophobic than traditional underground stations.
   Haussmann - Saint-Lazare on the RER E.
   Enlarge
   Haussmann - Saint-Lazare on the RER E.

   Only two stations were inaugurated to complete Lines B, C and D:
     * Gare du Nord (1982): near-surface construction on two levels

     * St-Michel - Nôtre-Dame (1988): deep construction on an existing
       stretch of the Line B between Luxembourg and Châtelet - Les Halles
       and remarkable for its two-tunnel architecture, common to all other
       deep underground systems but unique in Paris

   Two stations were added to the network as part of the new Line E in the
   1990s. They are notable for their lavishly spacious deep construction,
   a technique not used since Auber. Although similar to the three 1960s
   "cathedral stations" of the 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 - St-Lazare (1999): deep construction serving Gare
       Saint-Lazare and Auber

Usage

   The social and economic impact of the RER is difficult to overstate.
   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). 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. Despite the partial introduction of
   double-decker trains, and frequencies of as little as 2 minutes, the
   central stations of Line A are now critically crowded at peak times.
   Since both Metro and surface transport is equally congested at these
   times (and significantly slower), the RER's value to the economy of Île
   de France cannot be in doubt.

   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 (banlieusards) on evenings and weekends.

Future developments

   The main hypotheses for future extensions to the RER focus on the Line
   E, which currently ends at Haussmann - St-Lazare(doing only one side fo
   Paris, unlike all the other RER lines). 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.

   A new Line E station has also been proposed at Rue de l'Évangile on the
   existing approach to Gare de l'Est, with a tentative opening date of
   2010.

   Plans exist for a line F, which would connect Argenteuil to Rambouillet
   via the existing tracks of the St-Lazare and Montparnasse rail
   networks. A new tunnel would be bored below Paris, with the creation of
   a station at Invalides. At present, this is not foreseen before 2020.

International comparison

   The Paris RER is often compared with systems such as S-Bahn trains in
   Germany and Austria or Cercanías in Spain. That comparison is mainly
   due to the fact that they share the fact that they serve outer suburbs
   and fully cross the city in serving various stations. In that extent,
   the rail network which is currently built in the Brussels region is
   also called RER, and French speaking Switzerland also designates by
   "RER" what German speaking Switzerland calls "S-bahn".

   However, there are two specificities in the Paris RER that we don't
   find in most other systems: Firstly, each RER line runs on independent
   dedicated track (at the single exception of the tunnel between Gare du
   Nord and Châtelet, which is used by both lines B and D) and each RER
   line has its dedicated platforms in stations. Secondly, the Paris RER
   serves mainly the Paris urban area and very few satellite towns. The
   only exceptions being the Southern branch of line C and the outer
   sections of line D.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RER"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
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