Petite Ceinture

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For many years in Paris, a railway line, called the Petite Ceinture (“Little Beltway”), or PC, ran around the outer edge of the city, and provided mass-transit services to the city’s residents, as well as standard freight service within the city proper. With the advent of other forms of mass transit and freight transport, such as trucks, the RER express subway, and buses, the PC fell into disuse. Today only portions of it remain, and only an occasional freight train or chartered steam-driven train still moves over its right-of-way.

The PC is relatively scenic in many areas. This is just an average portion of the PC, however, just west of the avenue de Choisy in the 13th district, which also happens to be the home of Chinatown. Access to the PC is difficult and prohibited, since trains may still come along from time to time, but it is easy to see from many vantage points such as this one.

Photographed on May 29, 2000.