Métro Station Interior

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This is the interior of the Madeleine station on line 14, the newest line of the Paris subway (it opened in 1998).

This line is the dernier cri in subway design; while a handful of other, recent subway lines in the world incorporate one or more of the features you see here, this line incorporates just about everything required or suggested by the current state of the art.

In this photo, you see the platforms of the station as they appear from the mezzanine. The mere fact that there even is a mezzanine demonstrates how different this station is from most older subway stations—to anyone who has used subways elsewhere (such as the claustrophobic London Underground), a station as roomy as this one seems like open prairie.

This station is squeaky clean and very well lit. I know it doesn’t look that bright in this photo, but believe me, it is well lit by subway standards. An important feature of the platforms is automatic doors on the edge of each platform to prevent anyone from falling (or jumping) onto the tracks. The entire station is equipped to permit access to wheelchairs, which is no small feat when you consider that this station is ten stories underground (yes, you read correctly—the shallower levels of the ground beneath Paris are already so crowded that this new line had to be built beneath them!). Other aides to the disabled include lights over the doors to indicate that they are about to close (useful for the deaf) and audible announcements of each station (useful for the blind).

The most striking thing about this line, however (especially in comparison to the older Paris subway lines), is that it is entirely automated. If you look at the end of the train in the photo, you’ll see that there is no driver’s position. There is no driver’s position at the other end, either. Furthermore, the train is entirely open inside; you can walk from one end to the other without leaving the train. The doors open and close automatically, and the trains run with rigid regularity, always accelerating at the same rate (important if you are in a crowded subway car and just barely holding on). It is also eerie to ride this line during off hours when you may be the only human being on the platform or the train; although, in a way, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy to see a subway system operating reliably even in the total absence of any human beings.

This photograph was taken at rush hour, believe it or not. You can see large, illuminated advertisements on the station walls on the left (including some advertisements for the latest James Bond movie). The reptilian-looking structure on the far right, looming over the escalator, is a cable conduit—this appears to be a design feature of this station and line, although it looks a bit spooky to me.

I have another picture taken right down on the platform, if you are interested.

Photographed on November 26, 1999.