History UsefulNotes / LeMetropolitain

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* Music/SergeGainsbourg's "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas" is sung in the voice of a Métro ticket collector complaining about his dull life.

The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines with 4 more planned and 2 auxiliary lines (3bis and 7bis) crisscrossing downtown Paris for a total of 214 kilometers (376 while including the future lines). Lines 1 and 14 are totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is the largest and busiest subway station of the world. The passageways connecting between lines at transfer stations tend to be long, tortuous and in many instances one-way. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]]. Five of the system's lines (1, 4, 6, 11 and 14) are equipped with rubber-tired trains; Lines 1, 4, 6, and 11 were originally steel-wheeled until the 1960s and 1970s but Line 14 was built new in the 1990s with the rubber-tired system.

->''"Attention à la marche en descendant du train[[note]]Please mind the gap while exiting the train[[/note]]"''

In addition, there is also the '''[[IncrediblyLamePun Transilien]]''' [[note]]Intended to rhyme with ''Francilien'', the term for residents of Ile-de-France[[/note]] network, run by SNCF, which operates 8 shorter lines (H, J, K, L, N, P, R and U) around Ile-de-France and uses the RER's fare system. (Fun (?) fact: RER C is known as ''Réseau Escargot Régional'' (Regional Snail Network) because its length and its many branches mean even small delays will result in at least one big cascaded delay, whereas RER D line is popularly known as "RER Trash" due to its high rate of accidents and disturbances). The frequent delays due to malfunctions, incidents with users and the occasionnal strike (in 2007, the biggest strike led some people to become stuck in the middle of their trip or at work since you could wait ''up to four hours'' between two trains, if they did not decided to just stop) gives the RATP (''Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens'' - Autonomous Office of Parisian Transports) nicknames such as "Reste Assis T'es Payé" (Keep your seat, you're paid), ''Rentre Avec Tes Pieds'' (Go home on foot) or ''Râle Autant que Tu Peux'' (Complain as much as you can).

* Music/SergeGainsbourg's "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas" is sung by a Métro ticket collector complaining about his dull life.

* [[Battlefield Battlefields 3 and 4]] have the map Operation Métro, famous for being a XP grind.

* At least mentioned in the title of Creator/FrancoisTruffaut's ''The Last Metro'', even though that is mainly about a different kind of underground.

* The anthology film ''Paris, je t'aime'' (2006) contains a few scenes involving Paris public transport, most notably the fourth scene (''Tuileries'', directed by the Coen Brothers) starring Steve Buscemi. It actually was not shot at Tuileries Métro station, but one of the disused stations set aside for use as movie sets.

The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines and 2 auxiliary lines (3bis and 7bis) crisscrossing downtown Paris, with Lines 1 and 14 being totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is the largest and busiest subway station of the world. The passageways connecting between lines at transfer stations tend to be long, tortuous and in many instances one-way. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]]. Five of the system's lines (1, 4, 6, 11 and 14) are equipped with rubber-tired trains; Lines 1, 4, 6, and 11 were originally steel-wheeled until the 1960s and 1970s but Line 14 was built new in the 1990s with the rubber-tired system.

In addition, there is also the '''[[IncrediblyLamePun Transilien]]''' [[note]]Intended to rhyme with ''Francilien'', the term for residents of Ile-de-France[[/note]] network, run by SNCF, which operates 8 shorter lines (H, J, K, L, N, P, R and U) around Ile-de-France and uses the RER's fare system. (Fun (?) fact: RER C is known as ''Réseau Escargot Régional'' (Regional Snail Network) because its length and its many branches mean even small delays will result in at least one big cascaded delay, whereas RER D line is popularly known as "RER Trash" due to its high rate of accidents and disturbances). The frequent delays due to malfunctions, incidents with users and the occasionnal strike (in 2007, the biggest strike led some people to become stuck in the middle of their trip or at work since you could wait ''up to four hours'' between two trains, if they did not decided to just stop) gives the RATP (''Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens'' - Autonomous Office of Parisian Transports) nicknames such as ''Reste Assis T'es Payé" ("Keep your seat, you're paid"), ''Rentre Avec Tes Pieds'' ("Go home on foot") or ''Râle Autant que Tu Peux'' ("Complain as much as you can").

The '''Bus''' system is similarly divided in two: the RATP lines, which run around downtown Paris, and the Optile lines, which provide transportation within Ile-de-France. Of note is the night bus, which passes at 30 minute intervals when the last regular busses stop passing, previously known as ''Noctambus'' back when it only served downtown Paris, now renamed '''Noctilien''' because it now reaches out to Ile-de-France.

Finally, there are also nine '''Tramway''' lines run by RATP, which operate in the inner-most suburbs in a circle, as well as a recently opened line of '''Vogueo''' boats that can be paid with a regular transport ticket and will move you along the Seine river.

* To begin with, under this system, the Ile-de-France region is divided into six concentric fare zones, the sixth receiving special treatment being the farthest from Paris. Since September 2015, the zone system is no longer relevant in the fares, save for 3 interzone fees that were kept because they were cheaper than the new interzone fee.
* A normal "t+" ticket is valid for one single bus/tramway/boat trip, or for all the subway and RER trips you want as long as you leave neither the stations nor the fare zone AND your trip doesn't last more than 90 minutes.

* And all of this doesn't include the special tickets and passes made for old people, welfare recipients and more...

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The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines and 2 auxiliary lines (3bis and 7bis) crisscrossing downtown Paris, with Lines 1 and 14 being totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is one of the largest and busiest subway stations of the world. The passageways connecting between lines at transfer stations tend to be long, tortuous and in many instances one-way. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]]. Five of the system's lines (1, 4, 6, 11 and 14) are equipped with rubber-tired trains; Lines 1, 4, 6, and 11 were originally steel-wheeled until the 1960s and 1970s but Line 14 was built new in the 1990s with the rubber-tired system.

Then, you have the '''RER''', ''Réseau Express Régional'', "Regional Express Network", which is a network of rail underground within Paris and ground-level outside of Paris, which serves the entire region of Ile-de-France -- sort of like a faster subway. It is operated jointly by RATP, Paris's transit authority, and SNCF, France's national rail company; the difference is largely irrelevant as the transition between RATP and SNCF sections is seamless, and only matters when the RATP or the SNCF are on strike. (Also, at RER stations you also have to go through a ticket barrier on your way out). Unlike the Métro, the RER runs on normal train cars moving through standard railroads, as it was initially planned to use the existing railroads of Ile-de-France. While not as iconic as the Métro, the RER more than makes up for it for its incredible size: a total of 587 km of railroad, serving 257 stations.

In addition, there is also the '''[[IncrediblyLamePun Transilien]]''' [[note]]Intended to rhyme with ''Francilien'', the term for residents of Ile-de-France[[/note]] network, run by SNCF, which operates 8 shorter lines (H, J, K, L, N, P, R and U) around Ile-de-France and uses the RER's fare system. (Fun (?) fact: RER C is known as ''Réseau Escargot Régional'' (Regional Snail Network) because its length and its many branches mean even small delays will result in at least one big cascaded delay, whereas RER D line is popularly known as "RER Trash" due to its high rate of accidents and disturbances). The frequent delays due to malfunctions, incidents with users and the occasionnal strike (in 2007, the biggest strike led some people to become stuck in the middle of their trip or at work since you could wait ''up to four hours'' between two trains, if they did not decided to just stop) gives the RATP (''Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens'' - Autonomous Office of Parisian Transports) nicknames such as ''Reste Assis T'es Payé'' ("Keep your seat, you're paid"), ''Rentre Avec Tes Pieds'' ("Go home on foot") or ''Râle Autant que Tu Peux'' ("Complain as much as you can").

* To begin with, under this system, the Ile-de-France region is divided into six concentric fare zones.
* A normal "T" ticket, which costs 1 €, is valid for one single bus/tramway/boat trip, or for all the subway and RER trips you want as long as you leave neither the stations nor the fare zone.
* A "T+" ticket is similar, but at a slightly higher cost and is also valid for one rail and one bus trip (in any order), or as much bus trips as you can within an hour and a half, or one single Noctilien bus trip. From there, it all degenerates into a massive clusterfuck
* To move from one zone to another you need a round trip ticket which is only valid at two stations (except that all stations inside Paris are equivalent), and if you have to travel through many zones -- for example, from south zone 5 to north zone 5 thourgh all intermediate zones -- it can get ''really'' expensive, in the order of the 13 €, which is roughly 18 dollars.
* The Mobilis pass is valid for a certain number of zones, and for slightly higher price it will let you take as much trips as you want within the specified zones; the Ticket Jeunes ("Youth Ticket") is similar, costs half as much, but only applies in week-ends and holidays and if you're 27 or younger.
* The Navigo card is a pre-paid pass valid either for unlimited trips for a period or rechargeable with money. There are also special low-cost passes for students, disabled people or people on welfare...

The bad part? You'd ''better'' understand and know by rote the entire fare system, because if you screw up (for example, you have a ticket for zones 1-5 and you're in zone 6), you have to pay a fine of 86 €, or in US money, $127!

And the worst part? Since this fines-abuse is VERY widespread (all those people you see peeking around the doors into the station are people who skipped the turnstiles and are scouting for railroad cops) the transit lines are often patrolled with cops (railroad security units, backed up by national police and riot police in some cases) asking for tickets.

However, this complicated system is due to be simplified to a single-fare by 2016, as figuring in the platform of the Green/Communist part of the regional coalition in power.

Then, you have the '''RER''', ''Réseau Express Régional'', "Regional Express Network", which is a network of rail underground within Paris and ground-level outside of Paris, which serves the entire region of Ile-de-France -- sort of like a faster subway. It is operated jointly by RATP, Paris's transit authority, and SNCF, France's national rail company; the difference is largely irrelevant as the transition between RATP and SNCF sections is seamless, and only matters when the RATP or the SNCF are on strike. Unlike the Métro, the RER runs on normal train cars moving through standard railroads, as it was initially planned to use the existing railroads of Ile-de-France. While not as iconic as the Métro, the RER more than makes up for it for its incredible size: a total of 587 km of railroad, serving 257 stations.

Finally, there are also four '''Tramway''' lines run by RATP, which operate in the inner-most suburbs in a circle, as well as a recently opened line of '''Vogueo''' boats that can be paid with a regular transport ticket and will move you along the Seine river.

* One of the stations makes a memorable appearance in ''TheAristocats''. Edgar carelessly rides his motorcycle down the steps... and then [[Funny/TheAristocats rides back up much faster, just barely escaping an oncoming train]].

The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines and 2 auxiliary lines (3bis and 7bis) crisscrossing downtown Paris, with Lines 1 and 14 being totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is one of the largest and busiest subway stations of the world. The passageways connecting between lines at transfer stations tend to be long, tortuous and in many instances one-way. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]]. Five of the system's lines (1, 4, 6, 11 and 14) are equipped with rubber-tired trains; Lines 1, 4, 6, and 11 were originally steel-wheeled until the 1960s and 1970s but Line 14 was built new with the rubber-tired system.

The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines and 2 auxiliary lines (3bis and 7bis) crisscrossing downtown Paris, with Lines 1 and 14 being totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is one of the largest and busiest subway stations of the world. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]]. Five of the system's lines (1, 4, 6, 11 and 14) are equipped with rubber-tired trains; Lines 1, 4, 6, and 11 were originally steel-wheeled until the 1960s and 1970s but Line 14 was built new with the rubber-tired system.

Not so famous about Paris is its ''incredible'' mass transit system, whose organization is so complex it can be daunting to the foreigner.

In addition, there is also the '''[[IncrediblyLamePun Transilien]]''' [[hottip:*:intended to rhyme with ''Francilien'', the term for residents of Ile-de-France]] network, run by SNCF, which operates 8 shorter lines (H, J, K, L, N, P, R and U) around Ile-de-France and uses the RER's fare system. (Fun (?) fact: RER C is known as ''Réseau Escargot Régional'' (Regional Snail Network) because its length and its many branches mean even small delays will result in at least one big cascaded delay, whereas RER D line is popularly known as "RER Trash" due to its high rate of accidents and disturbances). The frequent delays due to malfunctions, incidents with users and the occasionnal strike (in 2007, the biggest strike led some people to become stuck in the middle of their trip or at work since you could wait ''up to four hours'' between two trains, if they did not decided to just stop) gives the RATP (''Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens'' - Autonomous Office of Parisian Transports) nicknames such as ''Reste Assis T'es Payé'' ("Keep your seat, you're paid"), ''Rentre Avec Tes Pieds'' ("Go home on foot") or ''Râle Autant que Tu Peux'' ("Complain as much as you can").

The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines and 2 auxiliary lines (3bis and 7bis) crisscrossing downtown Paris, with Lines 1 and 14 being totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is one of the largest and busiest subway stations of the world. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]]. Five of the system's lines (1, 4, 6, 11 and 14) are equipped with rubber-tired trains; Lines 1, 4, 6, and 11 were originally steel-wheeled until the 1960s and 1970s.

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2. Central Paris has extremely expensive (and, unfortunately, cramped and definitely not up to price) housing costs and rents, therefore the large population which works there would rather commute to work from cheaper and less crowded places. With millions of daily commuters, travel by car or bus quickly becomes impractical.

The subway system, formerly known as the ''Transit Métropolitain'', "Metropolitan Transit" -- later shortened to '''Métro de Paris''' and thus becoming the namer of so much other underground rail systems -- is world-famous for the Art Nouveau architecture of many of its stations, most of them built between 1900 and 1920, as well as for being one of the busiest and densest in the world: 14 main lines and 2 auxiliary lines crisscrossing downtown Paris, with Lines 1 and 14 being totally automated (remote-controlled, in reality). The Châtelet-Les Halles station, which serves a grand total of ''eight lines'' (Subway 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, and RER A, B and D), is one of the largest and busiest subway stations of the world. The tickets for the metro are [[FunSize very, very tiny]].

Then, you have the '''RER''', ''Réseau Express Régional'', "Regional Express Network", which is a network of rail underground within Paris and ground-level outside of Paris, which serves the entire region of Ile-de-France -- sort of like a faster subway. It is operated jointly by RATP, Paris's transit authority, and SNCF, France's national rail company; the difference is largely irrelevant as the transition between RATP and SNCF sections is seamless, and only matters when the RATP or the SNCF are in strike. Unlike the Métro, the RER runs on normal train cars moving through standard railroads, as it was initially planned to use the existing railroads of Ile-de-France. While not as iconic as the Métro, the RER more than makes up for it for its incredible size: a total of 587 km of railroad, serving 257 stations.

In addition, there is also the '''[[IncrediblyLamePun Transilien]]''' network, run by SNCF, which operates 8 shorter lines (H, J, K, L, N, P, R and U) around Ile-de-France and uses the RER's fare system. (Fun (?) fact: RER C is known as ''Réseau Escargot Régional'' (Regional Snail Network) because its length and its many branches mean even small delays will result in at least one big cascaded delay, whereas RER D line is popularly known as "RER Trash" due to its high rate of accidents and disturbances). The frequent delays due to malfunctions, incidents with users and the occasionnal strike (in 2007, the biggest strike led some people to become stuck in the middle of their trip or at work since you could wait ''up to four hours'' between two trains, if they did not decided to just stop) gives the RATP (''Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens'' - Autonomous Office of Parisian Transports) nicknames such as ''Reste Assis T'es Payé'' ("Keep your seat, you're paid"), ''Rentre Avec Tes Pieds'' ("Go home on foot") or ''Râle Autant que Tu Peux'' ("Complain as much as you can").