Paris enjoys driverless metro system

A Siemens release said that French capital's longest established Metro line was now fully automatic with the help of Siemens.

The first driverless trains had entered service on the Paris Metro's oldest line, equipped with the fully automatic Trainguard MT CBTC train protection system from Siemens.

Metro Line 1 was steeped in tradition and was at the same time the French capital's most heavily frequented line. It connected the east and west of the city along 17 kilometres of track and carried up to 725,000 passengers every day.

Siemens said the trackside operations control system and the complete telecommunications were installed without disrupting services. Modification of vehicles and setting up the operations control centre was also implemented by the rail automation unit of Siemens, who was awarded the order by the Paris transit authority Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) in November 2005.

Metro line 1 was popular with tourists wishing to discover the sights of Paris located along the line, including the Hôtel de Ville (city hall), the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysées, Arc de Triomphe and the high-rise district La Défense.

"This is a world premiere for us. It is the first time we've automated such an important and heavily frequented mass-transit route without disrupting normal services" said Jochen Eickholt, chief executive of Siemens' Rail Automation Business Unit.

The fully automatic system supplied by Siemens would ensure shorter headways and faster conveyance of passengers than conventional driver-operated systems. Trains on Line 1 could now be spaced at 85 second intervals instead of the previous 105 seconds, and train frequency can be adapted flexibly to suit ridership. This is particularly important during special occasions such as sports events or trade fairs.

The driverless Trainguard MT CBTC rail system facilitated especially energy-efficient and environmentally friendly operation. Metro line 14 in Paris, which was also equipped with Siemens technology, was currently making power savings of 15 per cent ever year.

Line L in the New York subway, Line 9 in Spain’s Barcelona, Line 4 in Brazil’s São Paulo and Line 1 in Algeria’s Algiers were are also operated with this system. And the Hungarian operating company BKV Zrt. had also ordered Trainguard MT CBTC for Lines 2 and 4 in Budapest, Siemens said.