Paris Métro Line 5

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Line 5
MF 01 stock train at Gare d'Austerlitz.
Overview
TerminiBobigny–Pablo Picasso
Place d'Italie
Connecting linesParis Métro Paris Métro Line 1 Paris Métro Line 2 Paris Métro Line 3 Paris Métro Line 4 Paris Métro Line 6 Paris Métro Line 7 Paris Métro Line 7bis Paris Métro Line 8 Paris Métro Line 9 Paris Métro Line 10 Paris Métro Line 11
RER RER B RER C RER D RER E
Transilien Transilien Line H (Paris-Nord) Transilien Line K (Paris-Nord) Transilien Line P (Paris-Est)
Tramways in Île-de-France Île-de-France tramway Line 1 Île-de-France tramway Line 3b
Stations22
Service
SystemParis Métro
Operator(s)RATP
Rolling stockMF 01
(52 trains as of 30 July 2023)
Ridership92,778,870 (avg. per year)
10th/16 (2010)
History
Opened1906
Technical
Line length14.6 km (9.1 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC third rail
Conduction systemConductor
Average inter-station distance697 m (2,287 ft)
Route map

Legend
proposed extension
proposed extension
Drancy
 RERRER B
 Bobigny–Pablo Picasso
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 15 Tramways in Île-de-FranceÎle-de-France tramway Line 1
 Bobigny shops
Bobigny–La Folie
proposed
RER E
Canal de l'Ourcq
 Bobigny–Pantin–Raymond Queneau
Église de Pantin
Hoche
Seine-Saint-Denis
Paris
 Porte de Pantin
Tramways in Île-de-FranceÎle-de-France tramway Line 3b
 Ourcq
Laumière
Jaurès
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 2Paris Métro Line 7bis
Canal Saint-Martin
 Stalingrad
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 2Paris Métro Line 7
 Gare du Nord
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 4 RERRER BRER DRER E TransilienTransilien Line H (Paris-Nord)Transilien Line K (Paris-Nord) TER Hauts-de-France Gare du Nord
 Gare de l'Est
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 4Paris Métro Line 7 TransilienTransilien Line P (Paris-Est) TER Grand Est Gare de l'Est
 Jacques Bonsergent
République
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 3Paris Métro Line 8Paris Métro Line 9Paris Métro Line 11
 Oberkampf
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 9
 Richard-Lenoir
Bréguet–Sabin
Bastille
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 1Paris Métro Line 8
 Arsenal
Bassin de l'Arsenal
 Quai de la Rapée
Viaduc d'Austerlitz
over the Seine
 Gare d'Austerlitz
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 10 RERRER C TER Centre-Val de Loire Gare d'Austerlitz
 Saint-Marcel
Campo Formio
Italie shops
Place d'Italie
Paris MétroParis Métro Line 6Paris Métro Line 7
proposed extension
proposed extension
Paul Verlaine
Place de Rungis
This diagram:

Paris Métro Line 5 is one of the sixteen currently opened lines of the Paris Métro in Paris, France.[1][2] It crosses the east of Paris on a north-south axis, from Bobigny–Pablo Picasso to Place d'Italie. It is the eighth-busiest line on the network.

History

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Initially called Line E on Fulgence Bienvenüe's project and limited to the section between Pont d'Austerlitz (now Quai de la Rapée) and Boulevard de Strasbourg (Gare de l'Est), Paris' Métro Line 5 is the first opened line crossing Paris on a north-south axis : Line 4 – the main north-south line of the parisian network – was only fully opened in 1910.

The line was initially meant to call at Gare de Lyon, which would have allowed larger traffic and increased transfer capacity with the already-opened line 1. However, the terrain made it eventually impossible as the nearby Rue de Bercy made any reasonable incline from the Austerlitz viaduct towards Gare de Lyon impossible. A single-track shuttle service from Mazas was briefly opened - hence the third track at Line 1's Gare de Lyon station - for a brief moment, then removed as the line extended north along Bienvenüe's project, towards Gare de l'Est, with Lancry (now Jacques Bonsergent) as an temporary terminus and Bastille as a direct connection with line 1. This single track is now known as Voie des Finances, since it comes close to the French Ministry of Economics and Finance.

On the other hand, the Italie loop, initially shared with line 2 sud (Etoile - Italie), was closed to allow better handling of both lines terminating there. But the results quickly prompted CMP (ancestor to the RATP) to construct a new station, east of the loop and initially meant for the future (and current) line 6, in order to home the terminus of then line 2 sud and thus separate the two lines. Line 5, however, didn't reuse the loop afterwards. Shortly after, the two lines were merged, making line 5 the then longest line for the next three decades.

On 6 october 1942, as the line's next extension opened to test run, it appeared that the new line 5 would become too long for regular smoth operation : It its decided to split line 5 at Italie again, with line 6 taking over the former line 2 sud from Italie to Étoile. A week later, line 5 connected Place d'Italie, to the church of Pantin, northeast of Paris.

During the 70s, as several projects around it emerged, line 5 welcomed (albeit shortly after line 3) brand new and modern rolling stock, dubbed MF 67.

On 15 June 2011 the MF 01 began entering revenue service onto Line 5, gradually replacing the aging stock. The initial announcement was made in 2006 and trains began to be tested during the course of late 2010 and early 2011. As of June 2013, only three to five MF 67 trains remain in service. There is also one MF 01 train for Line 9 (#096) that is in revenue service along Line 5. None of the Line 9 trains will enter revenue service on Line 9 until sometime in September 2013.

Chronology

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  • 20 April 1896: Paris' Municial Council adopts Fulgence Bienvenüe's subway project, which includes Line 5 as then Line E.
  • 30 March 1898: Fulgence Bienvenüe's project is declared "of public utility", which is mandatory to start construction works.
  • November 1903: Construction starts on the Austerlitz viaduct above the Seine.
  • 2 June 1906: Line 5 was inaugurated with a section from Place d'Italie to the Gare d'Orléans (now known as Gare d'Austerlitz).
  • 13 July 1906: the Austerlitz viaduct is complete, allowing line 5's extension one station north of Gare d'Orléans, to Place Mazas (now known as Quai de la Rapée)
  • 14 July 1906: The line was temporarily extended to Gare de Lyon.
  • 17 December 1906: The line was extended to Lancry (now known as Jacques Bonsergent), and the section from Mazas to Gare de Lyon is closed.
  • 14 October 1907: Line 2 Sud (now line 6) from Étoile to Place d'Italie was incorporated to line 5.
  • 15 November 1907: The line was extended from Lancry to Gare du Nord (former station).
  • 2 September 1939: Services to Arsenal station ceased at the start of World War II, and never resumed since.
  • 6 October 1942: The Étoile–Place d'Italie portion of the line was transferred to line 6, along with line 5's former workshops.
  • 12 October 1942: Line 5 was extended from Gare du Nord to Église de Pantin, with a new station built for the former. The old Gare du Nord terminus, which featured a loop, now serves as a training center for RATP staff under the acronym USFRT, along with the transfer track connecting Line 5 to Line 2.
  • 25 April 1985: The line was extended from Église de Pantin to Bobigny–Pablo Picasso.
  • 19 January 2009: reopening of the Italie loop, after its closure in 1907.
  • 15 June 2011: Cascading of MF 67 to MF 01 rolling stock began.
  • 2 May 2013: Cascading of MF67 to MF 01 rolling stock is complete.
  • 5 March 2014: The last MF 67 train on the line is reformed.

Future

[edit]
  • During the 1970s, an idea was coined to push line 5 towards the Orly Airport, in replacement of an RER line deemed too expensive. This also got cancelled as too expensive in austere times. The Orly Airport was not directly serviced by rail until Orlyval in 1991, and Métro line 14 in 2024, with Métro line 18 expected by 2030.
  • An extension south from Place d'Italie to Place de Rungis has been put forward, but was reported multiple times due to the heavy now-line 6 infrastructure around the line's actual terminus, including said line's main workshop, which makes the project very difficult unless a new Line 5 station is built further south.
  • An intermediate station, Bobigny–La Folie, has been planned for decades in between Bobigny–Pablo Picasso and Bobigny–Pantin–Raymond Queneau stations, and the RATP owns the land premises to such station. The current stretch of track between the two northernmost Line 5 stations, is one of the longest between adjacent stations on the Métro network (therefore excluding RER lines). The upcoming extension of Tramway line 11 to Noisy-le-Sec would cross line 5 at this very spot, furthering the project's doability.
  • An extension further north towards Drancy has also been proposed multiple times, but no official works have started on RATP's part.

Map

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Map of Paris Métro Line 5.

Stations renamed

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  • 15 October 1907: Place Mazas renamed as Pont d'Austerlitz.
  • 1 June 1916: Pont d'Austerlitz renamed Quai de la Rapée.
  • 15 October 1930: Gare d'Orléans renamed Gare d'Orléans-Austerlitz.
  • 10 February 1946: Lancry renamed Jacques Bonsergent.
  • 1979: Gare d'Orléans-Austerlitz renamed Gare d'Austerlitz.

Tourism

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Métro line 5 passes near several places of interest :

Connections

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ SeventhQueen (25 May 2022). "What if you went to see a show at La Villette?". Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  2. ^ The Age. The Age. 6 July 1956.
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