La Petite Ceinture: What Happened to Paris's Lost Railway?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ม.ค. 2020
- In 1900, the Petite Ceinture railway carried 38 million passengers in a single year. But by 1934 its stations were closed forever. What happened? Why was it abandoned? And why do the tracks seem to have been kept in good condition? I went to Paris to find out more...
(Apologies for occasional shakey footage in this video: a few shots were filmed last year before I bought my nice smooth camera.)
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Most cities would kill for an orbital railway yet Paris has one but doesn’t want to use it. Madness.
actually there are 2 tram lines that make a full loop around Paris, and now the required transportation would be a loop further away from Paris
Those lines are overburdened though.
They are considering it in dignity, no need to rush with no elegance. France might be one of more conservative countries in some areas.
You have the 2 and 6 metro lines as more central orbital railway. The tramways T2a and T2b more or less follow the petite ceinture (except for the 16th district but it should be completed in the near future). And lastly a farther orbital line, the 15 is under construction and should be finished around the 2024 Olympics (realistically one or two years after).
infirmux France... Conservative... Macron.... I think not.
"If you're watching this video in the future..." I think actually we all are.
Not me though, im watching this from the past.
@@herrbonk2211 Hey I'm in 1936 and I'm looking for you. Let's meet up in a dark alley!
Black Lanner specify.
I'm reading this comment from the future
@@blacklanner5886 Okay, you must read this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_machine Try to understand. It will be important pretty soon
Someone drew a nice image of the Eiffel Tower at 7:00 for tourists to easily find it when visiting the railway! So clever!
😂😂😂😂
thats not the eifel tower , thats my dick
@@mathieumansire372 Oof that's kinda small. Yikes
How do you know they drew it at 7am ? ;p
@@Kyrelel either 7 pm or am. not super specific, could be either of those minutes on the hour
6:58: "If you would like to take a romantic trip [...]" - shows map with a phallic object on top of it. That for sure is one way to be romantic, Tim ;)
I wondered who would be the first to spot that :)
@@TheTimTraveller A Frenchman?
Rocket ships are very romantic
@@TheTimTraveller Classy
This is Paris!
Capitale de l'amour!
Also, full of dic**...
I lived in Paris for 21 years and I still learned some things in this great video !
"Fun" fact : we used to explore the tracks as kid, until one day we were chased after by local gang members that were using the tunnels to deal drugs. I remember running through an unlit tunnel for what seemed like an eternity, and emerging on the other side, realizing we probably just escaped death. Fun times !
4:05 I see Jay Foreman has edited this part given the SFX.
All i could think was "unfinished paris?"
I hope they one day appear in each others videos, as an extra, frantically waving in the background, never quite reaching the camera in time to be heard ;)
I'd pay to see the two make a video together
Ahh it's one of the map mens!
@@DangItshere Hommes carte!
1:30 Thomas theme if you listen closely
4:24 As Time Goes By
i was trying to remember where i heard that from
It's similar, but I think it's the kevin macleod song
@@SuperSMT I think its the thomas theme
I noticed immediately
Incredible how a system can go from overwhelming needed, to obsolete, back to needed over the course of time.
Back to needed ? The entire line is dead as my friend's marriage. And it'll never come back.
@smelly_meat boss They still do it, using the tram.
@Granpda Corey Well, Berlin has retained its circle line and it is extremely busy, so maybe Paris could at some point have to reopen the petite ceinture, too.
Granpda Corey ??? What are you trying to say? People are doing it everyday using different lines of tram and Rer
@@julosx That's not what Tim said in the video...
A slight note in the end from you that was incredibly helpful. My wife needs to use a wheelchair most of the time and loves exploring stuff like this with me. Disabled people are so often left out or given the scraps of accessible places and services. Tank you.
It's like people still expect everyone to be born the exact same way or not injure themselves so much they can't use their legs/arms/etc anymore. Physically disabled people must probably be more curious about stuff like this, due to being left out so often! Good thing we all have this helpful man right? Be careful and have fun on those adventures okay?
"I can be romanit too "
Aaww!
"I brought you all to paris"
Ooh!
"To see an abandoned railway"
Fwoah!
You can take great romantic photos there and have a nice walk so it's romantic, atleast a bit :P
hey great video. I'm a train conductor and worked several years in paris rer C gare d'austerlitz/orleans (the trains you show around 6:20), your ending assumption is perfectly right. Part of the Petit ceinture will be used again for a new rer near Paris saint Lazare :)
You could easily access it through a station in the ligne c (where the old ligne and the new join) but it was closed off recently (3 years ago).
What's funny is the fact that the parts still in activity became tunnel because they build road over it and closed the roofs but the aera not used were left alone.
what do you mean there are no new RER
As a French guy, I am blown away by your excellent pronunciation! Keep it up
Surely the time has come to reopen this very important but so understated orbital railway. It is great that sncf has retained the route with tracks. If that was in the UK, it would have been ripped up, and sold off piecemeal, then when people wanted it, they couldn't because it is lost forever.
It is as it stands, a great ribbon of history and intrigue.
All the copper network payed by our taxes, (working passively for ever with few need for repaires) for fix phone is ACTUALLY "sold off piecemeal" since France Telecom have been privatized.......🤢🤑🤮
What a lovely story! As a US resident, when I heard the question "Why is this rail line in the middle of a developed city abandoned", I imagined greedy businessmen and politicians cancelling mass transit in favor of automobiles. Instead, it's a wonderful step towards even better passenger service!
It happened the same in Brazil.
"Greedy businessmen and politicians cancelling mass transit in favor of automobiles". Guess what ? That's exactly what happened. And still happening these days because the politicians are exactly the same of those in the 1930s with the same upbringing, the same ignorance, the same short-term politics, the same view of things.
@@julosx
Cringe.
@@IkeOkerekeNews Perfectly accurate actually.
@@Joesolo13
Not really.
6:08 Nice subtle circle of life piano cover that perfectly fits the rebirth as part of a new railway line.
That's exactly the thought I had once I realised what I was hearing.
Not only it's not a rebirth but much rather a first class burial. Once for all.
All in favor of making it a particle accelerator say "aye".
aye
Aye
However it might not be round enough
Oui
So interesting! I love how you combine history, geography and humor into all your post! Keep up the great work!
1:30
Thomas the Tank Engine theme?
BHuang92 yeah
My favourite part of the video tbh
How did I miss that. Thanks for pointing it out :D
I laughed hard at the "bearded man in a checkered shirt" comment, haha. Great video!
And I've doubled at 2:07 hearing the theme from the fort Boyard (piano) :)
Thanks for this very well researched video about the Petite Ceinture. 40 years ago when I was a student in Pairs, I had noticed some parts of it but wondered what it was and why there seemed to be no trains using these tracks. And while sleeping, a number of years later, I dreamed of that line and this dream gave me some basic info about it ( no joking ) and I understood that it had been a circular railway around Paris. I even saw it several times being fully restored and completely operational in other dreams. But those dreams did not bring me the wealth of information that you provided in that video. Extremely interesting. Keep up the good work !
To give you a hint of what the PC used to be when the trains could actually ride it, this is my 1999 video for you.
th-cam.com/video/rNbVqmpZ2vE/w-d-xo.html
Hi. At one point they thought about re-using it for a tramway around Paris. But because some politicians of the 15e district had their garden next to the tracks this idea was definitively abandonned and they covered the tracks with those planks you can see in your video (but everything is removable just in case of emergency like some military needs) and went for those "green corridors" instead. In the meantime they built tramway lines on the boulevards instead or there, which costed a lot more and also took almost a half of those boulevards from the cars. Cheers.
That's rather frustrating.
@@Joesolo13 I think it was actually a good decision. Paris really lacks green spaces compared to London for instance. With the effect of climate change being more severe, such green spaces are really valuable. When it comes to the tram, building it on the boulevards has been a big opportunity to change these car-dominated, polluted, unfriendly spaces into shared spaces with tram, cars, bicycle lanes, trees, etc... This has made the edge of Paris much nicer for those living here or commuting. The tramway stations are also located closer to the places people go to, which make using public transport more attractive.
This wasn't an easy choice but turned out well.
Why is this old track not part of Belgium?
ReddoFreddo - Er, because it’s in Paris, which is in France perhaps?
@@AtheistOrphan r/whoosh
@@AtheistOrphan you lost.
@@AtheistOrphan This track isn't in Belgium either, so what's your point?
What are you smoking
It’s nice to see that Paris (or whomever owns the tracks) has been forward thinking enough all these years not to just sell it off. The US is full of stories like this but they end quite differently. Cities with extensive mass transit systems sold to the highest bidder (car companies) who proceed to remove tracks and right of ways to make cars the only means a getting around.
And voters wanted exactly that. This is the main pain point also in Germany when it comes to extend the rail network - people want AUTOBAHN and ROADS. So every secretary (minister) of traffic and infrastructure was more or less the "secretary for the German car industry".
It’s owned by the SNCF, not the city.
Playing Fort Boyard theme when talking about fortification. Of course you are.
EDIT: And Circle of Life when talking about bringing a circular railway back to life ... oh yes.
Watching you come from not even 10K subs to where you are now has been such a grand journey. Thank you for your videos and for sharing
And he deserves every person who adds to his followers.
Seriously, one of the best channels to me when I just want to unwind and avoid Brexit and Trump.
Journey? It took about 2 days to go from 5k to 50k. More of a gentle stroll.
I lived in Paris for almost a year and had no idea this existed lmao
A year flies by. If you were there for 10 years and never heard of it, then we can talk lol
Right, my school through 12 years of growing up was just next to Corentin Cariou and I never knew about this. You can tell I'm not the adventurous type...
I lived in Paris for 5 years and had no idea this existed!
Edward Chan a few months. You lived somewhere for a _few_ months! I doubt you had much idea of a lot of Paris’ comings and goings.
Living there for some months is barely more than a holiday 😶
@@JulieWallis1963 I wish I could call it a holiday, but it wasn't :(
There used to be a train in the 80s, the Napoli Express from Boulogne sur Mer to Naples which connected from train and ship from London via the Folkestone Harbour branch now closed.
Once the train arrived at Paris Nord an SNCF series 639xx loco took the stock via the petit ceinture to Paris Lyon where electric traction took over the journey towards the alps.
Railway lines in the Paris area would seem naked without graffiti on every available stretch of wall. ;-D
Great video. Congratulations on your French accent. I live in France and it is rare to find fellow Brits who get the nuances of pronunciation correct.
I travelled on the VMI section of the Petite Ceinture just after it opened back in the autumn of 1988, but I also travelled on the eastern section of it in spring, 1973. At that time, there was a portion of a train from the south of France which was detached at the Gare de Lyon, and then taken round the eastern section of the Petite Ceinture to the Gare du Nord; I'd travelled overnight from Turin, changed to the through coaches at the Gare de Lyon, and I THINK we stayed on them through to Boulogne (I can't remember changing again once I got to Nord)
Gosh this is so great that they kept the line. In Belgium, all of the old rail lines have either been sold or turned into Ravels, which is the name for Cycling/walking paths. They are actually pretty brilliant, but now it feels like we can't put a railway back there anymore
I lived in Paris and I love the story of this train and thank you Tim to talk about this subject. However, I think the video miss to explain that now a tram run close to the old track without taking it (t3a and t3b). The question of using the old tracks was ask back then but they choose a different itinerary because as first, as seen in this video, " la petite ceinture" is a couple of meter up and it can be hard to make it a accessible to wheelchair and secondly, mostly because it run close to building that were build and sold after the complete shutdown. As a train or a tram make a lot of noise, politics were scare of the backlash. For this reason I think it's unlikely that the old tracks will be use again. And, small details, on the map, Tim show us the current metro 1 line. Back then it was smaller running only inside Paris (between porte Maillot and porte de Vincennes).
The wheelchair argument is a cover up for the fact that 1990s politicians couldn't claim the PC as their own, that's why they hated it and made sure it would be kinda destroyed and "replaced" by the two tramway lines despite their unbelievable cost and technical uselessness.
There are tons of similar lines around the world that have been made wheelchair accessible. If everyone else can do it, then so can Paris.
Tim, I absolutely love your videos! They never fail to cheer me up when I'm feeling down. Thanks!
For the record, the Sister line of La Petite Ceinture, known as La Grande Ceinture (which you mentioned in the video, and who is farther away from Paris than Petite Ceinture but still form a circle around it), is slowly being reopened in some areas to be used for a "tram-train" (basically a tram that can also use train tracks). For example, one of the line reopened will be Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Saint-Cyr, and later a link will be made to another city in the opposite direction from Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
So it's not impossible that one day, la Petite Ceinture will be opened once again (at least in some areas), if the need arises. However, it should also be noted that the railway as it is now offers a green area inside the city, with some people reporting that there are apparently fauna and flora that is not typically seen in the city growing on the old railway. So it's also possible that the city would prefer to keep the railway as it is to preserve these green spaces.
Great video !!!! Thank You for all that you do and thank you for going everywhere that you go . You show so much of places that I may never get to go to , but I feel like I've been there through your videos .Thank You !!!
You have one of the few TH-cam channels that I wish posted MORE often. Thanks for your fun and informative work.
In 1971 I went to Bulgaria by train from London; in fact it was on the Orient Express - by then a run-down train with one Wagon Lit, the rest of the train being made up of 2nd class French carriages. That said, disembarking the cross-channel ferry, I boarded a French train at Calais into a couchette designated for Milan. Arriving at Gare Du Nord, my couchette, plus other carriages, continued on to Gare De Lyon where they were connected to the Orient Express. Our trip between the two termini was undertaken on the tracks of La Petite Ceinture. This is now no longer possible - but I remember it well as we passed ove viaducts which offered a most marvellous view.
Thanks for that mention of the use of the Petite Ceinture. I'm surprised that Tim didn't mention it himself. It used to carry the Calais-Istanbul through wagon-lit in the 1920s. I've been on it more than once on Calais-Milan couchettes, and also once on a charter train from Paris to Port Bou on the Spanish border. This started at Gare du Nord in order to make the change from the Calais trains without lugging our stuff across town. The route was by Petite Ceinture to a junction with the Est line and then out along that.to join the Grande Ceinture. We then followed the GC past Valenton sidings,over the Seine to join the main line towards Toulouse and points south. This was I think in 1973.
I just wanted to say that I found Tim by accident but it fits my thing perfectly - my favourite stuff to do while travelling is to search for places no one knows or sees on a day to day basis. Outstanding stuff mate! Can't wait for more!
Oh my gosh I just discovered you today, and I'm two videos in and LOVING IT!! You are AWESOME. I mean literal TV star right here, you have the best voice and personality for this sort of thing
Nothing is better than a new Tim video on TH-cam (perspective much?). Always informative and interesting. Utterly fab. Thanks.
I am just 19 seconds into the video but I know for sure this video gonna b great as the previous ones.
Love your work dude
Man, I just love your videos!
When I get a notification that you've added something, I really do almost get like a kid at Christmas... yeah, that's embarrassing.
Thanks as always.
This Paris videos are priceless. I miss Paris so much. Deply in love with her chaotic transport system.
Same . I can't wait to go back. I thought i knew every part of Paris. This is in my list a son as everything opens up again .
I have traveled overpart of this line by steam between Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon in May 1964. This was a normal timetabled train quite late at night.
Love it, clicked it as soon as possible, and as usual love the offbeat comedy and of course the great information
What a wonderful story - I knew nothing of this.
And - as usual - wonderfully told.
Thank you.
I really like the way you tell stories. Very pleasing!
Such an interesting story of often overlooked railway history, and jazzed up with humourous narration, great work!
Great vídeo, thanks for posting ! Looking forward to the next visit to Paris.
Wow Tim, great video! You impressed me again!
I lived for 8 years right by the Petite Ceinture and remember when the section opened to the public, with the entrance that you see in the video literally right around the corner from my building. And I've only just now realized where the PC1, PC2, and PC3 bus names come from.
V impressed that you managed to find such an esoteric subject. Love it
hey, Tim ... A Parisian here.
you forgot to mention that the bus lines PC are meanwhile replaced by 2 modern tram lines that covers 3/4 of the circumference of Paris and they are much better interlinked with the existing metro and bus network
Furthermore, beside the parts already transfromed to public promenade areas, in many areas, the old PC tracks are removed or overbuilt with modern housing etc
Loved the video! So good. Thank you
Thanks for sharing this. I found your channel just the other day. I often wonder about the history of abandoned roads, rail roads, buildings and the like.
Je découvre vos vidéos...BRAVO! C'est à la fois instructif, drôle, et court! Merci pour ce contenu de qualité
Je ne suis donc pas le seul français à regarder cette vidéo...
OH MY GOD IS THAT THE FORT BOYARD THEME
At 2:08?
Yes it is! xD
The nostalgia lol
You know that the TH-cam channel is good when you avidly watch a video about a railway that’s (mostly) no longer there, in another country that I can’t realistically visit at the moment and even if I could, I’m not sure my wife shares my enthusiasm for abandoned mass transit systems!
Nice shout out with the Thomas and friends music. Hope your channel gets big enough to support topics outside europe good luck mate
Not far off that TH-cam trophy now. Keep up the good work!
great vidéo ! great journalism work ! ( I live in Paris and I explore this place a lot since the 90s)
Another excellent video. Thank you!
This video finally convinced me to subscribe to this channel. I really like your subtle humor. Keep it up!
At least the PC bus lines are slowly being restored to tracks - in the form of tram lines.
This is really one of the best channels there are :)
Nice video as always. Informative.
Great research Tim, really brought the story of this railway to life, I found it very interesting
What a fantastic video! I live across the road from one rehabilitated section of the Petite Ceinture and so I spend a lot of time there and I know a bit about it... but this video provided an excellent overview, i certainly learned a lot, Thank you!
Day gets better when there be new video
Excellent subject and video Tim.
Wow! 80,000 subscribers now? You're huge!! Congrats Great video by the way.
Thank you for a great video. I have just subscribed, coming from your Geoff Marshall hook up.
This is the first video I've seen on this. Really well made and informative.
I remember travelling on this line in the late 70's as they shunted international sleeper stock from Paris Nord to Gare de Lyon, for the trains that ran Calais (or Boulogne? )to Roma. I found that part really exciting at the time.
Nobody:
Tim: Hellooooo!
So cheery. Love it
Or, in this video: Helleaux!
Good job mentioning "in the future". Too many channels and websites forget they may be around for a while and fail to take that into consideration.
I discovered the PC once while walking overr a section on an overpass. Marvelous video. Thanks!
This is a very good Channel! Great videography and very funny and informative as well. Subscribed.
Thanks Brad, welcome on board!
It's good that you are back, now begin to upload more content, more.... we need more, of this good stuff
Ooh, that's one of my favourite rail tracks. It's so evocative with it's tracks down in a little cozy ditch.
Another fantastic video and making learning fun!
Thank you for teaching me something about Paris I didn't already know! Very interesting!
Eventhough I havent visited in Paris this documentary aspect of yours bring a tears in my eye😢. Fantastic storyteling🎉
its really good documentary production, thanks :)
I have very good memories of the petite ceinture. Living as a middle/lower class guy the poorer neighborhoods of Paris, my friends and I used to come have barbecues and parties on the "petite ceinture" it was in the 20th district and you even had acces to some buildings' roofs from there. There are some parts that are covered from wind and rain, and some space on the side with lots of trees.
It's kind of dangerous in some places because there are holes in the ground of some bridges and you could easily fall 15 meters down. I almost felt once, I was drunk and high and it fucking scared me. Also when the police came everyone would flee and we could not really escape since it was a single path railway, so you'd run off to the sides and try to go down to the streets on the side
@sydmccreath4554 yes, I think so. Maybe it's been blocked off since then I would think
Ah, do appreciate the note about accessibility on the two open sections.
Imagine how amazing this would be if Paris turned this into a cycling / walking loop.
Would be a cool bike ride
It could be the new route for tour de France ,
I was thinking the same thing. Like a cycling highway with loads of green spaces around
I grew up looking over the petite ceinture not knowing a thing about its history but now that I've left France it really intrigues me
Brilliant! Love your videos.
Great video of La petite Ceinture, Tim!!! One of the railroadtunnels is an entrance to the Paris catacombs.
As per usual, interesting, humorous and fun :)
I'd have thought the disused tracks would make a great freeway for the local wildlife as an excuse to keep it as it is.
lol local wildlife. Like what, rats?
@@gfuentes8449 or Drugdealers
@@gfuentes8449 Paris actually counts around 1300 species of wild animals just intra-muros (the city in itself, not counting the suburbs). There's an official report from 2009 for La Ville de Paris that explicitly states that La Petit Ceinture is indeed a privileged area for wild animals, with repeated confirmed sightings of foxes, hedgehogs, beech martens, ferrets, a surpring variety of birds (some of them exclusively found there like the Eurasian Wren or the Dunnock).
Going to brew a fresh coffee before lifting the lid on this one. Thank you as always
2:08 piano version of Fort Boyard theme! Oh, those sweet memories...
I was literally like: "Where the heck I heard that?!"
"It's also possible You'll get flattened by a train" 🤣 ...We have a similar thing in Detroit. Look up Dequindre Cut.
Fascinating once again!
I really enjoyed this video. The line has a certain mystery to me and one day I Hope to explore it. Thanks
SUPER interestig video, merci bcp!!!!
I love to hang out there when I'm visiting my friends in Paris, it's an amazing place...
i have been here and i was curious asto what this was. thank you for making a video about it
Although I had to turn down the volume, all in all a good presentation with a pleasant balance of history and humour.
Great video, always wanted to know a little bit of history about this line :)
Thank you for a really interesting video and for showing something I knew nothing about!