Paris transport: why don't the metro and RER run in the same direction?

If you've ever taken public transport in Paris, you may have noticed a surprising fact: the metro and the RER don't run in the same direction! You'd have to be pretty bored to think that, but it's a very interesting explanation, coming as it does from the great history of rail roads across Europe.

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If you didn't know, RER trains always enter stations from the right-hand side of the platform, while subway trains arrive from the left. Why such a difference on similar lines? Quite simply because the way trains run comes from England, which was the first country to offer railroads on its territory. Since the English drove their cars in the left-hand lane, trains followed suit.

When they arrived in France in the 1830s, this direction of travel was retained, enabling railwaymen to perform their shunts with their heads outside the locomotive without the risk of being hit by another train. RERs, unlike metros, are operated by the SNCF and run like trains, on the left-hand track, which means they arrive on the right-hand side of the platform.

As for the metro, born in 1900 in Paris, the City of Paris wanted to break away from the traditional railway system and show a bit of modernity. So much so, in fact, that they created a small-gauge rolling stock, running on the right, simply so that the railway companies could never mix their tracks with the Paris metro! Didier Janssoone, a railway operations engineer, points out in his book, however, that a metro can run on railroads, because thetrack gauge is exactly the same. You'll want to think about that the next time you take public transport!

Info Metro RER trains, closures, works and demonstrations in Paris this Saturday November 23, 2024
In the blink of an eye, you'll have access to all the information you need about traffic in Paris, updated in real time. RATP Metro RER and Transilien, roadworks, traffic, major events and demonstrations, we give you all the practical information you need to know before going out in Paris this Saturday November 23, 2024. [Read more]