Rer

In total, RER has 257 stations (including 33 within the borders of Paris), the length is 616.5 km, including 76.5 km (more than 40 stations) underground. About 780 million passengers or 2.14 million passengers a day use the system. Quite quickly after the development of a full-fledged system in the late 1970s - early 1980s, overloading the system became apparent. On line A in each direction per hour 55 thousand passengers travel - the highest figure in the world outside of Japan. In 1989, the intervals between trains were reduced, and since 1998, double-deck trains have been used.

Part of the lines is subordinate to the transport company, which also owns the metro ( RATP ), part - to the railway ( SNCF ). The fare on the lines of both types is the same. Depending on the distance of the trip, there are 5 payment zones.

Within the boundaries of Paris, the RER has several subway connections ; in the city, the same tickets are valid for trips as for subway and ground transportation (but when crossing the city’s borders, you need to buy a separate ticket). Paris RER stations are located much less frequently than in the metro, they have, as a rule, greater depth, and the lines are much less curved (by these parameters, RER is closer, for example, to the Moscow metro). On many trips within the city using the RER takes much less time than the subway.

The ceremonial commencement of construction was announced in July 1961 (the first projects go back to 1936), the final project was developed in 1965; however, the name of the system was not approved for a long time. The first phase (“Nacion” - “Boissy-Saint-Léger”) was opened on December 12, 1969 , on the same day the name RER appeared. But only on December 9, 1977 , the western and eastern sections of Line A (“Nation” - “Bouissy” and “Aubert” - “Saint-Germain-en-Laye”) united under the ground in the very center of Paris, at the station “ Chatelet-le -Al ", providing a transfer to several subway lines at once; Subsequently, a transition to two more RER lines, B and D, appeared at this station, making Chatelet one of the largest transfer hubs in the world.

The construction of the RER was extremely expensive; in contrast to the metro, which consists almost entirely of shallow lines and above-ground sections, the RER lines required an expensive deep foundation. Only in 1973, the budget was laid 2 billion francs . At 2005 prices, this is 1.37 billion euros (probably this figure should be doubled, since the French economy of the 1970s brought less income). These costs were not subject to public comment, unlike the construction of the metro in the 1900s; decisions were made in private. During construction, partly these costs were offset by a special transport tax ( fr: versement transport ), established in 1971 under President Georges Pompidou on companies that benefit from the construction of RER. In the future, the costs paid off during the operation of the system.

The architecture of the RER stations was developed taking into account the traditions of the Paris metro (although in some ways it denies them). As in the metro, stations are usually single-vaulted halls without columns, with side platforms (however, Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame station has two station tunnels, which is extremely unusual for Paris), not divided into separate halls. Compared to the metro, the RER stations are much more spacious; They are called "station-cathedrals", they are one of the largest underground railway stations in the world.

The RER has five lines. All use fork movement .

•   Line A is oriented in the latitudinal direction, passing through the city of La Défense , Place Charles de Gaulle , Gare de Lyon . In the eastern direction, two branches - on Boissy-Saint-Léger and Chessy (where Disneyland Paris is located), they pass through Vincennes and Fontenay-sous-Bois .
•   Line B runs from the southwest to the northeast, the city passes through the area of ​​Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame Boulevard, North Station, there are transfers on line A and D (Chatelet-les-Al) and C (Saint-Michel Notre Dame). In the northeastern direction, passing through Saint-Denis (station at Stade de France ), Le Bourget and Drancy , the line forks - one branch to Charles de Gaulle airport , and the other to Mithry . The southern direction serves the suburb of Arkoy , the campus, Fontenay-o-Rose and Saint-Remy-le-Chevreuse . Station "Anthony" is connected by automatic metro ( Orlyval ) to Orly airport .

•   Line C , going from north to south, has many branches and two internal contours. In the north, serves the suburbs of Clichy-la-Garenn and Neuilly-sur-Seine , the final station - Pontoise . Within the boundaries of the city, it runs along the Seine in a characteristic arc, passes through the Field of Mars , has stations at the Invalides House and the Orsay Museum , as well as at the Austerlitz train station . Its southern branches and rings serve Issy , Versailles , Ivry-sur-Seine , Orly airport , Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois , Durdins , Etampes .
•   Line D also runs from north to south and has two branches in the southern section. The terminus in the south is Melen and Malbers , in the north, the city of Orry and Creil (via Saint-Denis ). In the city, line D has stops at the North and Lyon stations, as well as the transition to lines A and B at Chatelet-les-Al.
•   Line E runs from the northern part of Paris ( Saint-Lazare station ) outside the city to the south-east ( Tournant ), one of the branches (on Gagny ) to the east. It is planned to further develop the line to the west, in the direction of the Defense; construction should be completed in 2018 .

• RATP official website
• Official Interactive Metro and RER Plan: Search for Stations and Routes