| Réseau Express Régional (RER) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
 RER C train atVilleneuve-le-Roi station | |||
| Overview | |||
| Owner | RATP andSNCF | ||
| Locale | Île-de-France,Hauts-de-France andCentre-Val de Loire | ||
| Transit type | Hybridcommuter rail andrapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 5 | ||
| Number of stations | 257 | ||
| Annual ridership | 983 million (2019)[1] | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 9 December 1977; 47 years ago (1977-12-09) | ||
| Operator(s) | RATP (RER A and B) SNCF (all lines) | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 602 km (374 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | Overhead line,1,500 V DC (RATP) or25 kV 50 Hz AC (SNCF) | ||
| Top speed | 140 km/h (90 mph) | ||
| |||
TheRéseau Express Régional (French pronunciation:[ʁezoɛkspʁɛsʁeʒjɔnal]; English:Regional Express Network), commonly abbreviatedRER (pronounced[ɛʁəɛʁ]), is a hybridcommuter rail andrapid transit system, similar to theS-Bahns of German-speaking countries and theS Lines ofMilan, servingParis and itssuburbs. It acts as a combined city-center underground rail system and suburbs-to-city-centercommuter rail. In the city center, it acts as a faster counterpart of theParis Métro, having fewer stops.
Conceived of as amétropolitain express ('expressmetro') during the mid-1930s, the scheme was revived in the 1950s and construction began in the early 1960s. The RER was not fully conceptualised until the completion of theSchéma directeur d'aménagement et d'urbanisme (roughly: 'master plan for urban development') in 1965. The RER network, which initially comprised two lines, was formally inaugurated on 8 December 1977 in a ceremony that was attended by PresidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing. A second phase of construction commenced at the end of the 1970s which saw additional lines constructed along with extensions to the original two. The RER is operated partly byRATP, the authority that operates most of the public transport in Paris, and partly by theSNCF, France's national rail operator.
As of 2023, the network consists of five lines:A,B,C,D andE. The network has 257 stations and has interchanges with theMétro andcommuter rail within the City of Paris and the suburbs. The lines are identified by letters to avoid confusion with the Métro lines, which are identified by numbers. The network is still expanding: RER E, which opened in 1999, is planned for westward extension towardLa Défense andMantes-la-Jolie in two phases by 2024–2026. The performance of the RER has made it a model for proposals to improve transit within other cities.[2] In November 2022, French PresidentEmmanuel Macron announced the creation of additional RERs that will serve the ten largest French metropolises by 2040.[3]
The RER contains 257 stations, 33 of which are within the city of Paris, and runs over 602 km (374 mi) of track, including 81.5 km (50.6 mi) underground. Each line passes through the city almost wholly underground and on tracks dedicated to the RER, but some city center tracks are shared between line D and line B. The RER is operated partly byRATP, the authority that operates most public transport in Paris, and partly bySNCF, the national rail operator.[4] The system, which is structured in a traditional radial arrangement, operates a through-service and uses a single fare model that works seamlessly with several other public transit systems.[5] Total traffic on the central sections of lines A and B, operated by RATP, was 452 million people in 2006; in the same year, total traffic on all Paris area commuter lines operated by SNCF (both RER andTransilien trains) was 657 million.[6]
RATP manages 65 RER stations, including all stations onLine A east ofNanterre-Préfecture and those on the branch toSaint-Germain-en-Laye.[7] It also operates stations on Line B south ofGare du Nord.[8] Other stations on the two lines and those on lines C, D and E are operated by SNCF. Of the RER stations operated by RATP, 9 have interchanges with Métro lines, and 9 allow transfer to SNCF's Transilien service.[9] In comparison to the Metro, the RER provides better coverage of Paris' suburbs and typically operates at higher speeds and with greater distances between stations.[10] Within the city center, RER services practice limited stop operations.[11]
Its roots are in the 1936Ruhlmann–Langewin plan of theCompagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris (Metropolitan Railway Company of Paris) for a "métropolitain express" (expressmetro). The company's post-war successor, RATP, revived the scheme in the 1950s, and in 1960 an interministerial committee decided to go ahead with the construction of an east–west line.[12] Subsequently, the central part of the RER was completed between 1962 and 1977 in a large-scale civil engineering project whose chief supervisor wasSiavash Teimouri. The construction of the RER was a major undertaking, being highly visible to both Parisians and visiting tourists at various sites across the city for an extended period.[13]
As its instigator, RATP was granted authority to run the new link. The embryonic (and as yet unnamed) RER was not properly conceived until the 1965Schéma directeur d'aménagement et d'urbanisme (roughly: 'master plan for urban development'), which envisioned an H-shaped network with two north–south routes.[14] Between 1969 and 1970, RATP purchased the Vincennes and Saint-Germain lines from SNCF, as the basis for the east–west link.[citation needed] Only a single north–south route crossing theLeft Bank has so far come to fruition, although the Métro's line 13 has been extended to perform a similar function.
The RER's first phase of construction during the 1960s and 1970s was marked by scale and expense. In 1973 alone,FRF 2 billion were committed to the project in the budget, equating to roughly €1.37 billion in 2005 terms, and closer to double that as a proportion of the region's (then much smaller) economic output.[15]: 77 The construction cost was controversial at the time of its construction.[16] This initial investment, along with subsequent spending, was partly financed by theversement transport, a local tax levied on businesses that was introduced in July 1971. It has remained in effect into the twenty-first century.[17]
During the first phase of construction, the Vincennes and Saint-Germain lines became the ends of the east-westLine A, the central section of which was opened station by station between 1969 and 1977. On its completion, Line A was joined by the initial southern section of the north-southLine B. Both Lines A and B were intentionally designed to converge with as many of the existing commuter lines as possible as to maximise its usefulness to existing travelers.[11] During this first phase, six new stations were built, three of which are entirely underground.
Construction was inaugurated byRobert Buron, then Minister for Public Works, at thePont de Neuilly on 6 July 1961, four years before the publication of the official network blueprint. The rapid expansion of theLa Défense business district in the west made the western section of the first line a priority.Nation, the first new station, was opened on 12 December 1969 and became for the next 8 years the new western terminus of the Vincennes line.[18][12] The section fromÉtoile (not yet renamed afterCharles de Gaulle) toLa Défense was opened a few weeks later. It was later extended eastward to the newly builtAuber on 23 November 1971, and westward toSaint-Germain-en-Laye on 1 October 1972. The latter extension was achieved by a connection to the existing Saint-Germain-en-Laye line, the oldest railway line into Paris, atNanterre.[19]
The RER network was inaugurated on 8 December 1977 with the joining of the easternNation-Boissy segment and the westernAuber–Saint-Germain-en-Laye segment atChâtelet–Les Halles. The inauguration was attended by PresidentValery Giscard D'Estaing.[16] The southernLigne de Sceaux was simultaneously extended fromLuxembourg to meet Line A atChâtelet – 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 by RATP and SNCF for some time.
A second phase of construction commenced at the end of the 1970s, which was carried out at a slower pace than the first phase. SNCF gained the authorisation to operate its own routes, which became lines C, D and E. Extensive sections of suburban tracks were added to the network, but only four new stations were built.[citation needed]
During 1979,Line C (along the Left Bank of the Seine) was added, although it almost entirely comprised existing SNCF lines.[11] The main civil engineering works performed involved the construction of a connecting link betweenInvalides andMusée d'Orsay.[citation needed] In 1981,Line B was extended through to Gare du Nord via a new deep tunnel fromChâtelet – Les Halles. It was later extended further northward.[20][21] By 1992, a total of 233 miles of track was operational, while a further 94 miles were under construction.[11]
During 1995,Line D (north to south-east via Châtelet – Les Halles) was completed; its primary feature was a purpose-built deep tunnel between Châtelet – Les Halles andGare de Lyon.[22] No new building work was necessary at Châtelet – Les Halles, as additional platforms for Line D had been built at the time of the station's construction 20 years earlier. In 1999,Line E was added to the network, connecting the north-east withGare Saint-Lazare by means of a new deep tunnel fromGare de l'Est.[citation needed]
The predominance of suburban SNCF track on the RER network explains why RER trains useoverhead line power and run on the left, like SNCF trains (except inAlsace-Moselle), contrary to theMétro where trains usethird rail power and run 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 (MI 79 series forMateriel d'Interconnexion 1979, andMI 2N series forMateriel d'Interconnexion à 2 niveaux (double-deck interconnection stock)) capable of operating under both 1.5 kV direct current on theRATP network and 25 kV / 50 Hz alternating current on the SNCF network. TheMS 61 series (Matériel Suburbain 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 them according to aloading gauge standard created by theUnion Internationale des Chemins de Fer (UIC), with space for overheadcatenary power supply to trains. Single-track tunnels measure 6.30 m (20.7 ft) across and double-track tunnels up to 8.70 m (28.5 ft), meaning a cross-sectional area of up to 50 square metres (540 sq ft), larger than that of thestations on many comparable underground rail networks.[15]: 29
The first RER rolling stock in fact predated the formation of the RER by 40 years, with theZ 23000 stock used on theligne de Sceaux (which was thereafter integrated intoRER B) from 1937 until 27 February 1987. In 1965 theZ 5300 train was introduced, followed by theMS 61 in 1967,MI 79 in 1980,MI 84 andZ 8800 in 1985,Z 20500 in 1988,MI 2N in 1996,Z 20900 in 2001,MI 09 on 5 December 2011,Z 50000 (Francilien) in 2015 andRegio 2N (Z 57000) in 2019. In 2017, it was announced that an consortium comprisingAlstom andBombardier Transportation had been selected to supply 255X’Trapolis Cityduplexdouble-deckelectric multiple units to replace aging rolling stock on both lines D and E under a €3.75 billion arrangement.[23] In April 2023, 60 additional Cityduplexs were ordered to increase service frequency.[24]
Many services are performed by double-decker train sets, usually operating in double formations.
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| Line name | Operator | Opened | Last extension | Stations | Trains in service | Peaktph | Length | Daily ridership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | RER A | RATP/SNCF[a] | 1977 | 1994 | 46 | 91 | 26 | 109 km (68 mi) | 1,400,000 |
 | RER B | RATP/SNCF[b] | 1977 | 1981 | 47 | 147 | 20 | 80 km (50 mi) | 983,000 |
 | RER C | SNCF | 1979 | 2000 | 84[c] | 172 | 20 | 187 km (116 mi)[c] | 540,000 |
 | RER D | SNCF | 1987 | 1995 | 54[d] | 134 | 12 | 172 km (107 mi)[d] | 660,000 |
 | RER E | SNCF | 1999 | 2024 | 25 | 64 | 22 | 60 km (37 mi) | 350,000 |
Ten new stations have been built under the heart of Paris since the 1960s as part of the RER project. The six stations ofLine A opened between 1969 and 1977 are:
Some controversy followed the construction of the Line A. Using the model of the existingMétro, and unlike any other underground network in the world, engineers elected to build the three new deep stations (Étoile,Auber andNation) as single monolithic halls with lateral platforms and no supporting pillars. A hybrid solution of adjacent halls was rejected on the grounds that it "completely sacrificed the architectural aspect" of the oeuvre.[15]: 31 [Notes 1] The scale in question was vast: the newstations cathédrales were 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 deep underground. The decision turned out to be expensive: around 8 billion francs for the three stations, equivalent to €1.2 billion in 2005 terms, with the two-levelAuber the costliest of the three.[15]: 34 The comparison was obvious and unfavourable with London'sVictoria line, a deep line of 22 km (14 mi) constructed during the same period using a two-tunnel approach at vastly lower cost though with a lower capacity. However, the three stations represent undeniable engineering feats and are noticeably less claustrophobic than traditional underground stations.[citation needed]
Only two stations were inaugurated to complete LinesB,C andD:
Two stations were added to the network as part ofLine E in the 1990s. They are notable for their lavishly spacious deep construction, a technique not used sinceAuber. Although similar to the three 1960s "cathedral stations" of Line A, their passenger traffic has so far proved vastly lower.
Journey times, particularly on east-west and north-south routes, have been reduced by the RER; in combination with the cross-platform connection atChâtelet – Les Halles, even certain "diagonal" trips have reduced journey times.[citation needed] Typically being used for leisure journeys, the RER has made a significant social impact. By bringing far-flung suburbs within easy reach of central Paris, the network has aided the reintegration of the traditionally insular capital with its periphery. Evidence of this social impact can be seen at Châtelet – Les Halles, whose neighbourhood andForum des Halles leisure and shopping facilities are popular amongbanlieusards, in particular from eastern suburbs.[27]
LinesA andB reached saturation relatively quickly, exceeding by far all traffic expectations: up to 55,000 passengers per hour in each direction on Line A (1992), the highest such figure outside of East Asia.[15]: 61 Despite a frequency of more than one train every two minutes, made possible by the installation of digital signalling in 1989, and the gradual introduction of double-decker trains from 1998 to 2017, the central stations of Line A are critically crowded at peak times.[28] In June 2015, a contract valued at €20 million was awarded toAlstom Transport to develop and install anautomatic train operation (ATO) system onRER A; at the time, this line was the most heavily frequented regional line in Europe, the introduction of ATO enabled increased service frequency and improved performance to be achieved.[29]
The RER has a substantial impact on the suburban areas of greater Paris, specifically on land values near the stations along its lines.[30] The RER has received criticism for its high level ofparticle pollution during busy periods, largely due to train braking. Pollution byPM10 particles regularly reaches 400 μg/m3 atAuber,[31] much more than at neighboring metro stations and eight times theEU Commission's daily average limit[32] of 50 μg/m3.
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