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Line 1 - Improving service through automation
A project designed to meet customer needs and reflect new living patterns
Line 1 automation: We did it!
Line 1 automation is now a reality. Line automation offers a transport service that is both more regular and reliable, a service that offers both greater comfort and greater responsiveness to a sudden influx of passengers.
Line 1 completed its final phase of transformation after 14 months of mixed operations, during which the new automated trains and the older manually-driven ones circulated concurrently. At 8:11 p.m. on 22 December 2012, line 1 began fully automated operations. This accomplishment was achieved after successive stages, with automated service first beginning in April 2012, during the evenings starting at 9 p.m., and then with fully automated service on weekends since July.
Six years of impressive work, started
in 2007, are thus concluded. Conducted almost exclusively at night while
service was closed, the tasks included the overhaul of civil engineering works in
stations, the installation of platform-edge doors, and the addition of the new
signalling and communications facilities that are necessary for automated
trains to operate in complete safety. The project was completed with
integration trials and the testing of smooth operations: more than 13,500
interventions were conducted over this period. Today, 49 new trains circulate
on Line 1.
A few more improvements will be made to the system in the months ahead. The installation of additional features, which are essential for greater flexibility in the operational management of trains, will occasion new service interruptions on certain Sunday mornings until 10 a.m.
Surveys of Line 1 passengers conducted in November 2012 revealed a high level of satisfaction with the quality of service, even though service was not yet fully automated. 91% of passengers expressed their satisfaction, with 30% saying they were highly satisfied. They applauded the rapidity of travel, the regularity of service and the short waiting periods in stations. The new trains were also highly appreciated. The automation project — a technical, organisational and social challenge that is unmatched worldwide — propels Line 1 towards a future that will span the next 40 years.
With the automation, Line 1’s passengers will benefit from a more
responsive and regular transport service, ensuring greater safety and comfort. One of
the main benefits of automation is the Line’s ability to react instantly to an
increase in passengers and provide the number of trains required for the
optimum operation of the line.
The installation of platform screen doors on all the lines’ platforms will contribute significantly to the smooth running of the line, avoiding interruptions associated with track intrusions, while also enhancing passenger safety.
Newly developed design
Line 1 will also benefit from a newly developed and colorful design: a red floor and multicolored stripes on the seat covers, new lighting to accentuate the impression of space, and four screens in each car which will provide passengers with continuous information.
Invisible to passengers, the sophisticated technical equipment required for the automated line was developed with industry partners, all leaders in their areas, whether in computerized signaling, automatic trains or civil engineering. These are all achievements that demonstrate RATP’s progress in mastering new operating systems for urban transportation.
Part of the modernisation programme
The project to automate line 1 of the metro, which was launched in 2004, is part of the huge modernisation programme that RATP will be undertaking over the next twenty years. The project will allow the company to meet growing demand and to satisfy its customers’ expectations in terms of safety, comfort, regularity, flexibility and information, at a time when RATP is seeking ways of anticipating and/or remedying network saturation.
