Paris Metro stations close for months of renovation work
Nine months out from the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, authorities are stepping up improvement works on the French capital’s public transport network - which inevitably will lead to closures and delays
Here’s what commuters need to know.
Gare d’Austerlitz
Commuters using Austerlitz have long been used to walking through modernisation and renovation work - it has been going on for 10 years or so. But now, the work which has so far been confined to the SNCF station is moving to the Metro.
Major works on Line 5, which crosses the east of Paris from Bobigny-Pablo Picasso to Place d’Italie, include a complete renovation of the Metro station at Austerlitz. As a result, the station will be closed to passengers using line 5 from Thursday, October 19th, until April.
When it does reopen, passengers will be greeted by a new exchange hall, and new connecting routes with escalators between lines 5 and 10.
During works, the rest of line 5 will operate as normal.
Bir-Hakeim station
As part of the overhead line’s ‘heritage maintenance’ programme, RATP will close Bir-Hakeim station for just over three months, from Monday, October 30th. Line 6 will continue to operate normally during the work, but no trains will stop at Bir-Hakeim for the duration.
The station will reopen to the public on Monday February 5th, 2024. Until then, Bir-Hakeim regulars are invited to take or leave line 6 at Dupleix or Passy stations, a 500m walk from Bir-Hakeim.
Line 14
Extension work on line 14 in time for the Olympic Games - to connect the the Saint-Denis Pleyel hub in the north and to Orly airport in the south - is on a very tight schedule. It is due to open fully in June 2024, weeks before the torch is lit at the opening ceremony.
Tests on control equipment, which caused a fortnight's interruption to traffic in August, will necessitate a further closure of the entire line from this Sunday, October 22nd for the duration of the Toussaint vacations.
A replacement bus service on the southern part of the line, between Gare de Lyon and the current Olympiades terminus will be provided during the closure.
The line will reopen from Monday, November 6th - but traffic will stop overnight from 10pm until the end of 2023, and the entire line will be closed on Saturday, November 18th, Sunday, November 19th, and Sunday, November 26th.
Further closures are expected early in 2024..
Line 11
Services on Line 11 have been ending at 10pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday since the start of the year. Normal service was originally scheduled to resume at the end of September, but now the early closures will continue until December.
This is part of the works being done to extend Line 11, which is set to open 5 new stations extending out into the north-east suburbs in the spring of 2024.
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Here’s what commuters need to know.
Gare d’Austerlitz
Commuters using Austerlitz have long been used to walking through modernisation and renovation work - it has been going on for 10 years or so. But now, the work which has so far been confined to the SNCF station is moving to the Metro.
Major works on Line 5, which crosses the east of Paris from Bobigny-Pablo Picasso to Place d’Italie, include a complete renovation of the Metro station at Austerlitz. As a result, the station will be closed to passengers using line 5 from Thursday, October 19th, until April.
When it does reopen, passengers will be greeted by a new exchange hall, and new connecting routes with escalators between lines 5 and 10.
During works, the rest of line 5 will operate as normal.
Bir-Hakeim station
As part of the overhead line’s ‘heritage maintenance’ programme, RATP will close Bir-Hakeim station for just over three months, from Monday, October 30th. Line 6 will continue to operate normally during the work, but no trains will stop at Bir-Hakeim for the duration.
The station will reopen to the public on Monday February 5th, 2024. Until then, Bir-Hakeim regulars are invited to take or leave line 6 at Dupleix or Passy stations, a 500m walk from Bir-Hakeim.
Line 14
Extension work on line 14 in time for the Olympic Games - to connect the the Saint-Denis Pleyel hub in the north and to Orly airport in the south - is on a very tight schedule. It is due to open fully in June 2024, weeks before the torch is lit at the opening ceremony.
Tests on control equipment, which caused a fortnight's interruption to traffic in August, will necessitate a further closure of the entire line from this Sunday, October 22nd for the duration of the Toussaint vacations.
A replacement bus service on the southern part of the line, between Gare de Lyon and the current Olympiades terminus will be provided during the closure.
The line will reopen from Monday, November 6th - but traffic will stop overnight from 10pm until the end of 2023, and the entire line will be closed on Saturday, November 18th, Sunday, November 19th, and Sunday, November 26th.
Further closures are expected early in 2024..
Line 11
Services on Line 11 have been ending at 10pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday since the start of the year. Normal service was originally scheduled to resume at the end of September, but now the early closures will continue until December.
This is part of the works being done to extend Line 11, which is set to open 5 new stations extending out into the north-east suburbs in the spring of 2024.
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