Paris Métro Line 13

Infobox Paris Network
Line=line 13
ColourName=#89d3de
TextColour=Black
YearOpened=1911
LastExtension=2008
RollingStock=MF 77
StationsServed=32
LengthKm=24.3
AverageInterstation=776
LengthMiles=15.0
AnnualPassengers=114,821,166

Paris Métro Line 13 is one of 16 metro lines built in Paris, France. The line links Saint-Denis and Gennevilliers in the northern suburbs of Paris to Châtillon in the south. It is the fifth busiest line on the netwok. The oldest parts of the line, like Line 12, were initially built by the "Nord-Sud" company, a former competitor of the CMP company (which later became the RATP).

Chronology

*February 26, 1911: Line B of the Nord-Sud company was opened from Saint-Lazare to Porte de Saint-Ouen.
*January 20, 1912: A second branch of Line B was opened between La Fourche and Porte de Clichy.
*1930: The Nord-Sud company was bought by the CMP company. Line B became Line 13, and the Nord-Sud's planned future Line C was assigned the number 14.
*January 21, 1937: The original Line 14 was opened between Bienvenüe and Porte de Vanves.
*July 27, 1937: Line 14 was extended north from Bienvenüe to Duroc and took over the section between Duroc and Invalides from Line 10.
*June 30, 1952: Line 13 was extended north from Porte de Saint-Ouen to Carrefour Pleyel.
*June 27, 1973: The line was extended south from Saint-Lazare to Miromesnil.
*February 18, 1975: The line was extended south from Miromesnil to Champs-Elysées - Clémenceau.
*May 26, 1976: The line was extended north from Carrefour Pleyel to Saint-Denis - Basilique.
*November 9, 1976: The line was extended from Champs-Elysées to Invalides. Line 14 was eliminated as a separate line (leaving its number available to be reused in 1998) and incorporated into Line 13. The line was extended south from Porte de Vanves to Châtillon - Montrouge.
*May 9, 1980: The northwestern branch of the line was extended from Porte de Clichy to Asnières - Gennevilliers.
*May 25, 1998: The northern branch was extended from Basilique de Saint-Denis to Saint-Denis - Université.
*June 14, 2008: The northwestern branch was extended from Gabriel Péri to Les Courtilles.

Future

After the northwestern branch was extended by 1.88 km with two more stations, Les Agnettes and Les Courtilles, a further extension with a third station (Port de Gennevilliers) will be added later.

Line 13 is one of the most crowded of the Parisian network. Various solutions have been investigated, from making a branch independent (a 13bis line), to extend ligne 14 to a branch to take it over, passing by extending line 14 to Porte de Clichy and Mairie de Saint-Ouen [ [http://www.20minutes.fr/article/189036/Paris-Comment-soulager-la-ligne-13.php 20minutes : Comment soulager la ligne 13] ]

Enhancements

The trains on Line 13 are currently being refurbished, and the first refitted train entered service in January 2007. [cite web| url=http://ratp.fr/ligne13/index.shtml| title=Mise en place d’un plan de transport adapté pour la desserte du Stade de France pour le match France-Maroc| publisher=RATP| language=French| date=2007-11-16| accessdate=2007-11-23| ] These refitted trains have new features such as automatic displays and announcements, which are now added to all new or refitted rolling stock, but also a reduced number of seats to allow for more standing passengers. The capacity of each train is increased by 26. [cite web| url=http://ratp.fr/common/ressources/933.pdf| format=PDF| title=Le MF 77 Rénové sur la ligne 13| language=French| publisher=RATP| date=2007-01-17| accessdate=2007-11-23| ]

tations renamed

*January 20, 1912: Marcadet renamed as Marcadet - Balagny.
*August 1, 1914: Berlin renamed as Liège.
*January 27 1946: Marcadet - Balagny renamed as Guy Môquet.
*May 25, 1998: Saint-Denis - Basilique renamed as Basilique de Saint-Denis.
*June 14, 2008: Gabriel Péri - Asnières - Gennevilliers renamed as Gabriel Péri.

Tourism

Line 13 passes near several places of interest:
*Saint-Denis and its medieval basilica, which contains the tombs of the kings of France.
*Saint-Ouen and its famous flea market.
*The lower Champs-Élysées near the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.
*The Invalides, which contains the tomb of Napoléon Bonaparte.
*Montparnasse, its famous cafés and the Montparnasse Tower.

ee also

* List of stations of the Paris Métro
* List of stations of the Paris RER

References

External links

* [http://ratp.fr/ RATP official website]
* [http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php# RATP english speaking website]
* [http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/carterer.php Interactive Map of the RER (from RATP's website)]
* [http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/carteparis.php Interactive Map of the Paris métro (from RATP's website)]
* [http://membres.lycos.fr/mobidf/ Mobidf website, dedicated to the RER (unofficial)]
* [http://www.metro-pole.net/ Metro-Pole website, dedicated to Paris public transports (unofficial)]
* [http://www.ensemblepourlaligne13.fr/ Ensemble pour la ligne 13 website, Petition web site protesting about crowding and lack of development on line 13(unofficial)]