Let's Ride ... The Paris Metro 3bis and 7bis
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 เม.ย. 2023
- Learn 24 languages with Rosetta Stone, discount link here: bit.ly/41bARpF
I found myself in France recently, learning the language and seemed like a good time to catch up with @TheTimTraveller again, so that we would specifically ride the two least used lines on the Paris Metro - the unusual 3bis and 7bis, featuring an old abandoned sections of track and disused stations!
If you're not subscribed to Tim's channel, you need to go do that immediately! That's here: / thetimtraveller
And the shortest distance between two Paris Metro stations ... we think it's either Cluny La Sorbonne to Maubert, or Cluny La Sorbonne to Odeon, whch are both on the Ligne 10. They both take around just 42 seconds to travel between the two, it's a close call!
Editor : Dave Stevenson
![[UNCUT] ฝันรักห้วงนิทรา | EP.9 (3/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ikd1tEhXbp8/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for visiting our metro :)
I'm a metro driver on line 13.
In few years, line 3bis and 7bis will receive brand new MF19 stock trains. For the moment it's between 2025 and 2027. :)
Those trains will have 4 cars. :)
hello! ah ... so kind, merci pour votre commentaire! there's another video coming up next week. Love the Paris Metro so much !!
@@geofftech2 You didn't mention it in the video but the rolling stock of the line 7bis is really unique. The MF88 stock had been the prototype of what was thought could have been the metro of the 21st century, full of leading edge first of a kind innovations. Unfortunately most of the supposedly good ideas revealed to be a nightmare. A few successful concepts tested on these trains have been used on the MP89 trains introduced on line 1 then 14 (which since then moved or are currently being moved to other lines), but for instance the bogies not
@the bogie tech is used on mf01 and it is genuinely the quietest and smoothest metro in the world
Damn he is a driver on the most occupied line of Paris metro
@@sophieteissier1001that's not !
M1 ~ 112 millions passengers/year
M4 ~ 106 millions
M9 ~ 94 millions
Then line 7, line 13... :)
It's a legend people say that the line 13 is the busiest. It's the messiest but not the busiest.
I drove on line 9 for 5 1/2 year, then line 13 and I'm going back to line 9. :)
Finnally Geoff sees the “Waterloo and City Line” of the Paris Merro
I'm not sure they'd like that comparison haha!
@@TalesOfWar Line 3bis is the W&C with extra stops
@@Intercite possibly like the Northern City line when it was part of the LU?
@@Intercite I'm thinking of the Waterloo part lol.
But the W&C has immense use in the peak direction and no use in the other direction, while the 3bis and 7bis don't see much use at all. I agree that the Northern City Line would be a better comparison.
Hi Geoff, thank you for your brilliant video! I am glad you made a video about the city where I live !
Here is a fun fact about one station of line 7bis : Danube. This station was constructed in a very unstable terrain, where a gypsum mine used to be. Indeed, the station is perched more than 30m above solid ground. This is why they built huge supporting columns below the station. These were needed to keep the station from falling. Pretty impressive for a station of this size !
Ps: I am sorry if my English is not perfect, I am French (oui oui)
couple of notes:
- yes, the pathway at Gambetta is indeed where the track used to be. what you didn't mention though, is that the current line 3bis platform was the original Gambetta station. new platforms had to be built for line 3 when it was extended in another direction, and the segment to Gambetta got turned into a branch line. Martin Nadaud station was so close, it was absorbed into Gambetta station.
- Porte Molitor never opened, since no exits have ever been built. however, there used to be a train shared between lines 9 and 10 back when both had the same stock, and since they had different seatings, Porte Molitor is where they would replace seats and maps, and store them on the platform, whenever the train had to switch lines.
- the shortest distance between two stations is 183 m, between Cluny - La Sorbonne and Maubert - Mutualité. the journey takes about 30 seconds.
Cluny-La Sorbonne was so close to Maubert that it was closed after world war 2, becoming a ghost station. It only opened again to offer a connection to Saint-Michel station when RER B was built. Saint-Michel station which by the way is built below the Seine river. So when you're standing in the station, there's actually water above you.
Invader is a Paris-based street artist. His work is also found in London (and other cities around the world). There are some good examples around Old Street and Soho :)
There's one on Clerkenwell Road by the bus stop on the corner of Hatton Garden.
I've personally seen them in Berlin, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen as well as Paris and London. I first saw one in maybe 2010.
I was trying to remember who he was. I always passed a random mosaic space invader by him on the steps on a bridge over the Canal St Martin (I think somewhere not far from where it's finally tunnelled) and he's been cited in books on graffiti art.
There was a small exhibition of his work in Melbourne, Australia. I think he visited in the early 2000s.
We have a couple in Newcastle
Two ideas for future videos:
-The Paris Metro used to have First Class in the third car and this was discontinued.
-Each station used to have an electric door that would close up when a train arrived, to prevent stragglers from running to the train. They had no retraction device and so could really hurt you if they closed on you. These were decommissioned in the late 1970s IIRC, but I believe may still be found in some stations, permanently propped open.
You could still find few of those doors in late 2000s (not working) but not anymore. All have been removed.
There was still one (not working) at Denfert-Rochereau in the corridor leading from the metro to the southbound RER B platform. It was still there around 2015, but I don't think it's there anymore.
EDIT: Just checked, it's still there as of 2019
It is a CRIME that Tim didn't take you to the Parc Buttes-Chaumont to see la Temple de la Sibylle, the lake and go to the cafes there. Best park in all of Paris.
In my defence, your honour - I took him there the moment we finished filming :)
I took a look on maps and was instantly impressed. Very nice.
I didn’t even know that Buttes Chaumont had a station 😅 pour vivre la vie bien bobo hein
Parc Monceau grumbles silently in anger...
And the Butte Bergeyre for a view and the Mouzaia quarter would have been brilliant visits nearby...
@@TheTimTraveller isn’t it closed at the moment?
Oooh, the Geoff and Tim show is back! Yay! I wish you two would make more videos together! One thing you forgot to mention was that the train goes through a former gypsum mine at Buttes Chaumont, which made for huge difficulties building the tunnels! I believe they are even suspended in some places. I used to use Place des Fetes regularly when I lived in Paris in the 1970s (my own métro stations were Duroc or Francois Xavier) as a dear friend lived near there!
both of them are very entertaining.
The whole of Buttes-Chaumont station is indeed like suspended in the cave through which the line's "tube" is riding. The same thing happend with one of the multiple Montparnasse-Bienvenüe (*) stations, thd whole site having been litterally dug through gypsum caves (thd Paris Catacombes are nearby at Denfert.
(*) Bienvenüe, like in the French for welcome ("Bienvenue", which is btw ("Bien-venue") the litteral equivalent translation of "well-come") but with an Umlaut (ü) since its the name of the French Charles Yerkes, the civil engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe who created the Paris Metropolitain.
Yes. This is what I was trying to remember! The tunnels are held up on stilts inside a cavern. There's a wonderful photo of a model of the station Danube, on P221 of "Un Siecle de Metro en 14 Lignes" by Jean Tricoire. The station is in two side by side tunnel bores inside a huge concrete block itself held up on pillars all inside this huge cavern.
@@jeanbonnefoy1377 you score triple-intersection for mentioning Charles Yerkes !
I love the 7bis. I specially went to visit it whilst studying in Paris. Little known fact is that the 7bis was dug through a former gypsum mine with massive chambers and extremely unstable ground conditions, parts of the tunnel are actually built on viaducts. It was a truly insane building project.
the secret line between 3bis and 7bis is called "la voie des fêtes"
the flip up seats have been removed for maintenance
The two tracks each have their own name. The Voie des Fêtes is the eastbound track and the westbound track is named Voie Navette
The Party Route?
@Pesky Pigeon🐦 the Shuttle Route - oh ! I thought etc
1:25 Slammy Door and Handle Door have a special place on the channel.
I miss being in the EU
We all do, buddy.
Nice! You're in my city on two of my favorite lines! They have very nice and quiet stations!
Also if you've noticed the motor sounds on the 7bis MF88 trains, you will notice that these trains are prototypes for the modern metro trains in Paris.
the sound come from of inverters ...it's the classic Alstom GTO-VVVF, similar at 1996 stock in London.
But they are effectively prototypes for the next generation of metros .The Mp89 series and Metropolis familly.
Space Invader mosaics: I did a walking tour for a few hours around Montmartre when I visited Paris. Started at the Moulin Rouge, then the cafe from Amelie, then several other locations including the "love" wall, finally ending at the Sacred Heart Basilica. Our guide liked pointing out the street art and I remember we saw a few of the space invader mosaics. I would bet there's well over 100 that the artist has left around Paris.
The tunnel the runs where tracks used to be reminds me of the new(ish) connection between Times Square and Bryant Park here in NYC. They renovated the Times Square Shuttle to be 2 tracks, and replaced the 3rd track with a ramp down from the eastern end of the new island platform to a block long tunnel (with a block long piece of artwork) that ends with stairs down to both platforms at Bryant Park on the 6th Avenue lines (BDFM). Oddly because the shuttle closes overnight, the connection gets locked shut and passengers are told to go and take the 7 train one stop instead. Eventually they will add in elevators to make the connection fully accessible (oddly all of the Times Square complex is accessible EXCEPT for the tunnel that runs from the 8th avenue (ACE) lines to the rest of the station as that tunnel has steep ramps at both ends that are unfriendly to wheelchair users.)
The shoulder shrug and "je ne sais pas" look about the mystery of the lost seat was your best bit of french in all the video geoff 👌
Did anyone else notice that e acute when he said he was going to order some coffé ?
Great video! Thought I’d add info : at 2:02 the bench is so uncomfortable because RATP don’t want homeless people sleeping on them, so they voluntarily made it impossible to lie on.
Colour schemes are stock based, not line based. The only difference you might find are both lines 3 and 3bis MF67 stock got unique refurbishments with unique layouts and colours (PIS and longitudinal seats for line 3, and removal of tip up seats for line 3bis).
The wall in the middle at Buttes-Chaumont and Botzaris has nothing to do with the line splitting. It’s just because the station is too unstable without them, as they are so deep underground.
There have been plans to combine 3bis and 7bis into one line, perhaps a line 19 (but that might be reserved for a future Grand Paris Express line) or a line 20. Such a line would use that eastbound connection between 7bis and 3bis, which in turns necessitates the opening of the famous built-but-never-used Haxo ghost station (as Pre-Saint-Gervais would be turned into a one way station as well).
I'm soo rooting for that project to be realized! Not for practicality or usefulness, but just because, ideologically, it would be soo satisfying to see the Haxo ghost station finally open and utilized, and also because in that way Paris would also hit the coveted mark/record of TWENTY metro lines! 😍😍
I was in Paris for a few days in 2017 (in transit between Vladivostok and Sintra, yeah it was my 'bucket list' trip) and I rode on both those lines. Just because they looked curious on the map. And they didn't disappoint, I'm looking forward to Geoff and Tim's exploration.
Buttes-Chaumont is a beautiful park, landscaped from a disused quarry with the added attraction of the disused Petite Ceinture running through.
Somewhere on my channel I've done a short Petite Ceinture video and one on the Arts et Métiers Metro station which has a wonderful Jules Verne interior.
The Paris trick with the handle is that you can lift it in advance, and they will open the doors slightly before the stop, so you can get off while still moving, so it's fast, and you already have some speed up and can just continue walking. :-) Efficiency!
Only if the driver unlocks in advance. The system releases the doors at 10 km/h.
But waiting for the slam allows you to open with the door released and under pressure...The door will open much faster.
@@Lodai974 Yes, the system releases the doors at 10km/h. So before you stop. And lifting the handle in advance makes it both easier to open (less force for you) and it opens immediately at 10km/h.
So the trains with these handles are definitely my favorite. I'm sure they will slowly be replaced.
@@RegebroRepairs yes it's more easier ,but opening is not as fast .And yes they will disappear, between 2026 and 2029 ... without exception..
@@Lodai974 It's possible that the door opens somewhat slower than if you lift it a few seconds later, but since it starts opening earlier, you can still get off faster.
Great to see the Geoff and Tim show again. What a treat. Merci beaucoup.
I quite like the design of the Paris Metro's stations, especially the Art Nouveau station entrances.
And the few Art Deco ones are also very impressive, as we saw in this video.🎉
Geoff! Hair coloring? A new look?
Love these little short line stories…
Love Tim as your “pro French speaker”…
Great to see the "old style" trains still rrunning. It's a few years since I last went to Paris, I noticed significant changes to lines 1 & 4 last time I was there, including driverless operation of Line 1, and retro-fitting of platform edge doors.
Geoff and Tim in one show. Two of my favorites. 👍🏻
I love how Tim played 'the local expert' with stripey top, sunnies and cool almost-beret!
Great video Geoff, love the banter with Tim Traveller.
That reminds me, I should go to Paris more often.
There is always a good excuse to go to Paris. If only for the food and wine
I was last in Paris 10 years ago. It's amazing how things haven't changed. Same tickets, same doors and chair colors, same Lion King show poster.
Not changed vs the same 😊 Lion King is in Mogador Theatre, so 😅
Now that you've done the 3bis and the 7bis on the Paris Metro, you have to do the U4 on the Berlin U-Bahn, which has a *very* similar vibe, but a bit of a different history. And no, this is not just an excuse to get you to visit Berlin again! xD
Also the stations on the northern section of the U8 are must do’s as well. Residenzstraße, Paracelsus Bad, Wittenau, Rathaus Reinickendorf and my absolute favourIte Karl Bonhoeffer Nervenklinik are all absolutely beautiful stations
Great to see another video with you and The Tim Traveller in Paris!
So good to see Geoff and Tim back out on the Metro… did anyone think that Tim was channelling the French stereotype with a stripey top and a beret? 😜
At 4:03, great to see Tim saying 98 in French, or to translate directly: four twenty eighteen 😀
Hope you both had fun on the trains!
A more accurate translation would be four score and eighteen...
Lovely to see Paris. I have a visceral reaction to Paris. It'sike seeing a lost lover that I've never got over. It's such a special place
I love when you do videos with Tim. You should make it a regular thing.
The thing I really like about the old trains is you can open the doors as the trains pulling in, you can do that on the Berlin one as well
I lived next to Danube for over 2 years. Being a metro nerd myself I found that getting the 7bis daily was amazing. I'd occasionally get the 7bis change to the tram and then hop on the 3bis 😂
Because of the plague and some other delayed plans, I haven’t been to Paris in a few years (I used to go 2-3 times a year). This video is making me excited to be returning in the late summer for a little Rugby tournament they’ve got planned. My poor wife is going to be getting dragged around some of these sights.
Likewise: Ill be at the S/Africa (L'Afrique de Sud) versus Ireland ( L'Irlande) game. I'm Irish and I'll be with a S/A ex-work mate...
Awesome video of those two lines .A friends name is Lila and we where fascinated there is a station of Porte de Lila's. But after just seeing John Wick 4 recently and they use this station to find out there is a " cinema" station , amazing !! Used the Metro when I went Paris 7 yrs ago and loved it , well done Geoff & his mate .
Gallieni still serves the coach station at the far end.
Have you considered doing Luxembourg? Since 2020 all public transport is free. You might be able to do the entire rail network in a day.
Was there for a Confce in early 2022. And the newish tram in central Luxembourg City starts from outside the main line train terminal. And like all other transport modes in the Grand Duchy, in 2nd class and only within the country, is at all times, completely free!!
I think the shortest distance between two stations is between Martin Nadeau and Gambetta.
Since you visited Gambetta, you know that the station is just massively long. That's because when they separated the 3bis from the 3 they had to rebuild the station and since the distance between the Martin Nadeau station and the new Gambetta station was so short, they just merged them.
I'm worried next time you won't need me at all! Pleasure to be your local guide again, Monsieur le Maréchal :)
p.s. no, I still don't know
i asked someone else, and ... answer's in the description, Tim! :-)
As a French speaker I realised how your french improved since the Eglise d'Auteuil video ! I love your french accent ! Félicitations 🎉
Roght 👍 FYI, only a bit of work on the R sounding would make a huge improvement 🎉 Ask Tim...
@@testman9541 Yeah, indeed, though it's not easy to be able to pronounce the "R" french haha
@@FouiAnimations Not easy is quite relative ey, ask a spaniard for clarification on R and J 🥳
Cluny la Sorbonne to Maubert feels shorter because you can actually see between the two stations in the tunnel. Haven't ridden the 10 much beyond that so I can't really compare the actual travel time but the straight line and visibility makes the two feel insanely close!
When I lived in Paris in the 1970s, Cluny (then just plain Cluny) was a "ghost station" - I was very surprised when I found it had re-opened. There was also a ghost station called Croix-Rouge, but that has not, as far as I know, reopened. I mostly used the line between Emile-Zola and Dupleix, which was my commute for awhile, but certainly used the rest of the line on occasion!
I know what you mean, Montreal Metro has the same thing between several stations. It makes them look closer than they are.
I spent a pleasant afternoon in 2018 walking around Parc des Buttes Chaumont avec ma soeur qui vivait
à Paris! Happy memories and thanks for the Metro stories.
Excellent Video again dear Geoff. And a great new hairstyle!
Great video as always. Glad to see Geoff and Tim collaborating again. I am subscribed to both of you and this video shows again why =) Have a wonderful weekend everyone
Glad to see you back in this game. Looking forward to seeing more.
I'm so sorry but I have to mention Geoff's blonde streak! I think an explanation is needed 😂
@@geofftech2 Explanation requested and explanation given.
The 'space Invader' thingies are, I believe, applied by a Paris street artist, appropriately called, 'Invader'. Look him up!
What a coincidence, I was in Paris the day before this video went live, used the metro a few times and liked it, I love the chime they have for incoming trains.
The 7bis line have unique trains in the whole Paris metro!
Also you don’t mention it but between the 3bis and 7bis there is the "voie des fêtes"with the ghost station haxo, but there’s also the "voie navette" which was used to test the first pneumatic metro in the world, the MP51!
I’m a big fan of the Paris metro 😂
Two of my favourites. And riding my local métro line of all places ! ☺️
1:25 Vienna U-Bahn still has handles on the older stock :))
Great to see Geoff and Tim working together!
Back in Paris, love it! I went on both these lines, plus all the line son the Network! Brilliant video, Love the bis lines!
Looking stylish Tim!
An hour ago I was looking if Mr. Marshall had a new video, and there was nothing. “Maybe he’s on holiday?” Apparently!
What a treat! And such a nice surprise, this collab.
Paris metro is so underrated! Especially with.the RER. London still wins imo
Thanks Geoff love your videos. I've learnt so much about trains because of your videos. 👍
I love these international videos! Please do more! 😊
Thanks Geoff for a superb video one of my favourite metro systems ,I will definitely use Rosetta Stone to improve my French.
Great video. I need to go to Paris now
Thanks for covering the Paris metro! Nice to see you outside your London's playground. Hopefully you'll cover more metros in all of Europe! Madrid, Milan, Stockholm...
Brilliant video Geoff keep up the good work
The camera angle at 7:35, reminds me of some Glasgow subway stations!
That was lovely. And I love the hair Geoff!
Geoff et Tim sont toujours amusants! Je suis toujours ravi de les voir faire une vidéo de collaboration.
I can't wait to visit Paris and ride the Métro. I'm wondering what the gap between the trains and the platforms are like for wheelchair accessibility.
Great video Tim and Geoff. I’ve done a bit of research and I think Cluny-La Sorbonne - Odeon is closer at probably just under 300m and Cluny-La Sorbonne - Maubert-Mutualité is probably 350-400m. This is probably not 100% accurate with the distances but I’m fairly sure I’m right about which one of the two is closer. I’d have thought Chalalet to Les Halles on line 4 would be amongst the closest distances between stations, my guess that’s less than 300m at least going Northbound as there’s a bend there
Cant beat a bit of french quirk. Well done Geoff and Tim (definitely subscribed to both of you)
I didn’t know anything about the Paris network, great seeing both my favourite TH-camrs in the one video :)
2 of my favorite TH-camrs in one video! Omg YAAAAASSSS!!!
Paris' transport system is great :) maybe the only one I would say potentially holds a candle to London! Great video as always!
This was a really fun episode, I’ll have to do that when I go Paris in autumn this year, fortunately I also get the joy of coming from Zurich with the TGV
Gotta love some more Geoff & Tim adventures
I live in paris and any video Geoff does on its metro mskes my day!
Props to the person who produces the cartometro website. Not a week passes without me looking how the track and platforms are actually positioned in one of the European cities. 👍
Loved this video of my favourite undergroundsystem- i started writing a book on the history of the Metro - I need to go back to it...
yay, geoff's in paris! I love the Metro (and Paris itself for that matter)
Also my favourite lines in Paris Metro. Hope they'll finally end up connected.
P.S. You should really come to visit Moscow Underground someday. You'll have a wonderful time there. We even have a monorail!
Tim with the Hamburglar look
Exactly what I needed!
those line have a complicated history,but nice video
The line fron the left,at the Gambeta,is used as a garage
I did exactly the same trip last week, well worth the time going out that way the character of those lines was incredible.
Moral of the Story: Tim is best person in Paris for Dutch Angles.
Yay, the Bakerloo Brothers reunited!
Great video, love the Paris Metro, love your videos and Tim's....we had The Tim Thumb
Not sure if you know, but in the UK. There is a new station currently in the process of being completed on the line that Connects Basingstoke & Reading.
The new station is called “Reading Green Park” and it’s between Mortimer and Reading West.
What you should have mentioned about the 7bis, is the fact that some parts (from buttes Chaumont) were built in an underground viaduc, inside old escavations, hence the shape of Buttes Chaumont station
3bis was closed today when I tried to visit. But I did get one of the old trains on line 11. Did have to skip a door just to open it myself!
One does not do a video in Paris without Tim 👌
There are more than 2 ghost stations. You missed 2. Gambetta was the last stop of line 3. As many others, the loop was a triangle with arrival plateform (under Balgrand street), a standing track (under the "park") and a departure plateform, where you took the 3bis. You would have to continue with line 3. After the station, you can see the ghost plateform and the wall tiles. They extended the 3 to porte des Lilas around 1910 or 1920. They extended to Bagnolet around 1970 1980. That would have been tricky to use the arrival plateform for both directions. That would look like Clapham south? nord? with its narrow central plateform. That also would have been tricky for the connection to the new 3 bis. They "cut out" the actual plateform, reuse the track tunnel for a connection tunnel and discard the arrival. Since the new plateform touches Martin Nadaud, there are a very long plateform with grids at ouest side. The entrance still exists.
Thanks love your videos Geoff keep up the good work
Tim being all incognito with the sunglasses. 😆
"quinze étages"
Well played, Tim!
Another great video Geoff - thank you!
Speaking of least used, how about doing the least used station in Scotland?
I've had a look online and it may be Lochluichart, but I could be wrong.
See it, Say it, Sortie gave me a good laugh! (I don’t think people picked up on it)
Hello Geoff,
Sorry to have missed you to reply just in time (due to computer and health diseases).
Super to have pursued investigations on small parisian underground city lines.
A few years ago i worked there between Place des Fêtes and Télégraphe stations. Telegraphe on line 11 with Place des Fêtes, and Abbesses are one of the deepest stations. During W W2 they were safe places to protect from bombings and until recently were remains like air pipes on ceiling or anti blast big doors. This place is the tallest hill of Paris so optical telegraph station was built above at early 19th century and big water tanks. As mentionned Buttes Chaumont park is a good place to go but for "panoramas" you'll have enlarged views of either north suburban areas until Le Bourget and Roissy airports at "Parc du Chapeau Rouge" 'near Pré saint Gervais station, or of inner Paris at "Parc de Belleville" near Pyrénées station, ranging from Opéra Garnier roofs on your right to Opéra Bastille and Gare de Lyon on your left.
But the best place for train pleasure, from my point of view, not too far from there is at top of Montmartre Sacré Coeur Dôme from which you'll see non stop running trains like eurostars, thalys, regional -ter- or suburban-rer- commuters between gare du Nord to Stadium of France and ahead. It gives you model scale illusion.
Perhaps another trip in Paris or arround ?
It would be nice to meet you.
Congratulations again for Tim and for you.
best regards from Marco.
Bis is what the French shout when they want an "encore" and of course is paired with -cuit to make biscuits.
Looks Geoff is doing "Toutes les lignes du métro parisien".Line 10 Tick, Line 3bis Tick ,Line 7bis Tick ,Line 14 Tick.Amazing!