This is the line that crosses Paris from top to bottom, from the north of Seine-Saint-Denis to the south of Alto-Seine, linking Saint-Denis to Châtillon and Montrouge. Often decried, long criticized for its constant traffic, line 13 is now celebrating its 112th anniversary.
A bit of history first: the line was put into service on February 26, 1911. From the beginning, the line had two distinct branches to serve the cities of Clichy, Saint-Ouen, Saint-Denis, Asnières and Gennevilliers. The line alone serves two of the largest railway stations in Paris: Montparnasse and Saint-Lazare, and is active from 5:30 a.m. (the time of departure of the first metro from the terminus) to 12:40 a.m. on weekdays, and 1:40 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays for the weekend.
[Birthday 🎂] Today, #ligne13 celebrates its 112th birthday!
- Line 13 (@Ligne13_RATP) February 26, 2023
For the occasion, we dusted off our archive photos.
Find a thread of 4 anecdotes about the line's history. Ready for a jump in time? 👇#RATP pic.twitter.com/m4hFd4R2qQ
In fact, including the two branches of line 13, the one towards Asnières-Gennevilliers and the one towards Saint-Denis, the line is officially the longest in the Paris metro, slightly ahead of the interminable line 8, which is almost 23.4 kilometers long and crosses the south of Paris, from Balard to Créteil. Line 13 is 24.3 kilometers long and has 32 stations.
In November 1976, lines 13 and 14 of the metro merged at the Invalides station, with the construction of a new tunnel under the Seine, to finally form a single line 13. The unusual anecdote about line 13 is that the Pernety station was built directly on the first floor of a building due to a lack of space: it opened in 1937 and has always been used.
Line 13 of the Paris metro: the Asnières-Gennevilliers branch disconnected this Sunday
Beware if you have to take the metro line 13 in Paris this Sunday, February 26, 2023. "In order to improve the transport offer", RATP announces that all trains will go to Saint-Denis-Université, from Châtillon-Montrouge, and vice versa. To reach Asnières-Gennevilliers Les Courtilles, you will have to get off at La Fourche station and take another train. We explain everything to you. [Read more]
Line 13 of the Paris metro: the Asnières-Gennevilliers branch disconnected this Sunday
