Paris Métro Line 3

Line 3

MF 67 stock train departing Villiers
Overview
System Paris Métro
Locale 3 communes
Termini Pont de Levallois – Bécon
Gallieni
Connecting lines Paris Métro Paris Métro Line 2 Paris Métro Line 3bis Paris Métro Line 4 Paris Métro Line 5 Paris Métro Line 7 Paris Métro Line 8 Paris Métro Line 9 Paris Métro Line 11 Paris Métro Line 12 Paris Métro Line 13 Paris Métro Line 14
RER RER A RER C RER E
Tramways in Île-de-France Île-de-France tramway Line 3b
Stations 25
Ridership 87,600,000 (avg. per year)
9th/16
Operation
Opened 1904
Operator(s) RATP
Conduction system Conductor (OCTYS)
Rolling stock MF 67
(48 trains as of October 31, 2010)
Technical
Line length 11.665 km (7.248 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Average inter-station distance 486 m (1,594 ft)
Route map

Line 3 (French pronunciation: ​[liɲᵊ tʁwa]) is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro rapid transit system in Paris, France. Connecting Pont de Levallois - Bécon station in the near western suburbs to Gallieni in the east, the location of Paris' international bus station. After opening as the third line in 1904, the line was the subject of a number of extensions, with a major restructuring occurring in the eastern section in 1971, with an extension to Gallieni and the conversion of the original terminal branch to Line 3bis.

With a length of 11.7 km (7 mi), Line 3 crosses Paris from west to east completely on the Right Bank, serving the residential areas of the 17th arrondissement, Saint-Lazare station, important stores and shopping centres, the area around the Place de l'Opéra, and the east of the city. In 2004, it carried 87.6 million passengers, making it the ninth busiest line of the Métro.

History

Chronology

A 300-series Thomson at République in 1904

A second east-west axis

The infrastructure works for Line 3 were auctioned off in six sections on 24 May 1902. The concession was granted to the CMP by the municipal government of Paris on 13 March 1903, but the declaration of public utility was only granted on 26 February 1907.

A display of Line 3's cut-and-cover construction technique at Opéra. The vault heading underneath Rue Auber is visible

The works were rendered difficult due to the necessary displacement of existing underground infrastructure such as water, gas, and electricity lines, but also because the Line 3 was to cross a number of Métro lines, particularly at Opéra, where a special pit was built to house the intersection of Lines 3, 7, and 8. This masonry pit was 20 m (66 ft) and constructed fully so as to avoid any problems when building subsequent lines. Since the work was situated at the water table, it required concrete pillars made by sinking caissons with compressed air. The work lasted eleven months, from March 1903 to February 1904.

Another difficult point of construction was the crossing of the Canal Saint-Martin. To build underneath it, the canal was dried and its vault hanged. In the area of the Place Gambetta, because of the instability of the subsoil, which consisted of waterlogged sand balls, made it necessary to drain the soil, a very delicate operation considering the number of buildings that could be destabilised. Then the side walls were built from masonry shafts that are dark from the outside.

Plans

Map and stations

Map of Paris Métro Line 3

Renamed stations

Facts

Tourism

Line 3 passes near several places of interest :

Gallery

See also

External links

Paris Métro Line 3
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.