Testing automated trains on the Paris Metro

While perusing a geographically accurate map of the Paris Metro, I came across an isolated section of track labelled “Base d’essais de la Petite Ceinture” – which lead me down a rabbit hole to the introduction of automated trains on the Paris Metro.


RATP photo via metro-pole.net

You can find the geographically accurate map of the Paris Metro at cartometro.com, with the piece of track that caught my eye found in the south of Paris where the pink Line 7 and purple line 14 meet.


Map from cartometro.com

Labelled “Base d’essais de la Petite Ceinture”, the Petite Ceinture was a orbital railway that once connected the major railway stations of Paris, but has now fallen into disuse – the abandoned tunnels being a popular photography site.

But other parts of the railway are far less salubrious.

Luckily French-speaking railfans have also extensively researched the history of the railway, including a Wikipedia article on the Base d’essais de la Petite Ceinture. Here is an extract via Google Translate.

The Base d’essais de la Petite Ceinturc (BEPC) is a former test line located on the right-of-way of the Petite Ceinture railway in Paris, in the 13th Arrondissement.

As part of the Météor project (which would become line 14), approved by the government in 1989, the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) decided that the new line would be operated with fully automated trains and awarded the design of the Système d’Automatisation de l’Exploitation des Trains (SAET) at MATRA Transport International (now Siemens Mobility). In order to validate the system before completion of the work, it was decided to carry out the tests on a temporary track.

On the Petite Ceinture line , the section located between Parc Montsouris and Avenue d’Italie stood out as the ideal site for installing a test line due to its excellent geographical location, in the heart of Paris. At the time, it was also planned to eventually extend line 14 to the Cité universitaire station by reusing the Petite Ceinture, the former La Glacière-Gentilly freight station being planned to accommodate a workshop for maintenance.

The single track, equipped for rubber tyred trains, extended over one kilometer to Avenue de Choisy, with a second 300 metre long siding. A 90 metre long platform partially equipped with platform screen doors, and a small overhaul workshop with a 30 metre long inspection pit were also provided.

The base opened in the fall of 1994 and the actual tests began in the spring of 1995, continuing until May 1997 when testing was carried out on line 14 itself. The test campaign made it possible to validate the SAET system, with the verification of the interaction of automatic trains with manually operated trains, as well as to test the operation of platform screen doors.

After the tests, the installations are completely dismantled and the site is restored to its original condition.

The tests were carried out with two pre-production MP 89 CA train sets, as seen in this 1995 film by the Institut national de l’audiovisuel.


Institut national de l’audiovisuel

Further reading

The Petite Ceinture Test Base (BEPC) at metro-pole.net

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Fold down couplers on ‘Thunderbird’ rescue locomotives

I spotted something odd looking on the front of a British diesel locomotive recently – a fold down coupler! SO what’s the deal with them?

Turns out the locomotive in question was a Class 57/3, with Wikipedia explaining the reason for the extra coupler at each end.

During April 2002, Virgin Trains West Coast signed a deal with Porterbrook for the rebuilding of Class 47s into Class 57/3s; these were to provide a fleet of locomotives for rescue duties as well as to drag electric trains along routes that lacked overhead wires to power them directly, with it decided to fit the fleet with Dellner retractable couplings. The first of these locomotives were delivered in June 2002.

The retractable couplers are found above the standard screw couplers.


Photo by mattbuck, via Wikimedia Commons

And folded down when needed to couple up to a Dellner equipped multiple unit train.

221144 connected to 57308

They remained in this role until 2008 when the completion of West Coast Main Line upgrade saw Virgin Trains’ need for the locomotive reduce, with six units returned to Porterbrook and leased to Network Rail in September 2011.

Some units having the Dellner couplings swapped out for Tightlock couplings as used on ex-British Rail multiple units.

Rail Magazine writing in 2013.

Six new weapons have been unleashed in the war against delays on the former Southern Region, with Network Rail launching six Class 57/3s capable of rescuing electric multiple units and hauling them at 100mph (RAIL 725).

The locomotives are leased by NR from rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook, having been made redundant from similar jobs on the West Coast Main Line. NR leased the six (57301/303/305/306/310/312) in 2011, and their level of work has slowly increased.

Recent brake modifications allow drivers to operate both the brakes on the ‘57s’ and those of the failed train. The safety interlocks can also be operated on the EMUs from the ‘57’, which means that the trains can be hauled at normal line speed. In some areas, that is 100mph.

NR does not have its own drivers, and so drivers from other companies are hired
to operate the locomotives. They are predominantly from GB Railfreight, although Colas Rail and Direct Rail Services also provide crews.

“All six Class 57s have had their couplers lowered by 115mm,” he explains. “It has to be lower to couple to the EMUs. Four are

fitted with Dellner couplers to work with the Electrostars and Desiros, while two can work with Tightlock couplers. These are the couplings fitted to the EMUs built by British Rail, and to the Class 357s used by c2c.”

It gets more complicated, Stewart
explains, because five different kinds of electrical adapters are required (two for the Electrostars, for example). They are carried on the locomotives in the former boiler compartments, which remain from their days as Class 47s.

The electrical adapters are vital because they put various supplies from the ‘57’ into the EMU. “The Class 57s have air brakes, and that will translate into the unit,” explains Stewart.

Previously, if an EMU failed the option would be for another EMU to rescue it. This would block the line, and cause major delays. Rescues were easier with Tightlock-fitted EMUs, but not those with Dellner couplings – the trains would be unbraked and have to run at 5mph.

Now, the ‘57s’ can rescue an EMU and keep all its systems running, as well as clearing a blocked line.

“Before, failed units had to be rescued using whatever train was available, was powerful enough, and which could be coupled to the unit,” says Stewart.

“Route controls would have to source the rescue vehicle, and competent fitters, and get them to the depot to collect the emergency adaptor coupler before the recovery train could go out – all of which took valuable time.”

A rescue involving one of the modified ‘57s’ would involve its driver, the driver of
the failed unit, plus competent staff, such as a maintenance operations manager or a train operating company fitter, on either side of the coupling. This can be achieved in 15 minutes – a huge time saving over previous procedures, says NR.

Further reading

A closer look at the class 57/3 fleet during the Virgin Trains era.

And a video by @mmlspotter on TikTok showing the class 57/3 coupling up procedure.

@mmlspotter GBRf 57306 lowering its coupling then coupling up to EMR 360108 at Bletchley working 5B60 Kettering to Northampton 24th May 2024 #bletchley #trainspotting #fypシ #fyp #class57 #57306 #gbrf #class360 #360108 ♬ original sound – MMLspotter🏳️‍🌈

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A miniature village in Kyiv

Last month I spoke about the ‘Miniland UA’ model railway display in Kyiv, but on the other side of town is another miniature slice of Ukraine – 1:33 scale models of local landmarks at the open air ‘Ukraine in Miniature’ park.

The idea for the park was conceived in 2000, and it opened in 2006 with 48 exhibits after four years of construction. The park spans 2 hectares, with a total of 60 exhibits now on display.

Kyiv landmarks featured in the park include Independence Square.

Kyiv Railway Station.

Boryspil Airport.

Saint Panteleimon Cathedral and the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery.

St Andrew’s Church.

National Bank of Ukraine.

And Mariinskyi Palace.

Further reading

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Miniland UA – a giant model railway display in Kyiv

I recently stumbled upon an interesting model railway display – “Miniland UA” in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.


Miniland UA photo

Billed as the largest model railway in Eastern Europe (Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany is the world’s largest at 1,545 m2) the Ukrainian themed 1:87 scale layout covers:

  • 87 m2 in area
  • 510 metres of track
  • 95 metres of roads
  • 1465 people
  • 152 point levers
  • 124 signals
  • 137 buildings
  • 156 wagons
  • 35 locomotives
  • 4374 trees
  • 6242 LEDs

Work on the project commenced in September 2020, with a soft opening to the public from November 2022.


Miniland UA video

Railway Supply magazine speaking to the creators of the display while construction was still underway.

The authors wanted to depict Ukraine on a model – with its cities and villages, reservoirs and the railway.

As director Pavel Gushchin explained, this will be one of the largest rail projects in Eastern Europe.

Objects and details are made on a scale of 1:87. To make them as realistic as possible, the craftsmen measured the walls of each architectural object that they made.

Among the Carpathian peaks, in the very center, rises the Olesko castle, which is located in the Lviv region. There is also the Podillia region with authentic huts, pierced by a river with real water and a dam.

The authors promise that they will implement a real river, mountain lake and water mill. Water will flow from the lake along the river to the boundaries of the layout. The sluices on the water mill will regulate the flow of water.

It is planned to install special pumps and a container with water under the model.

In mini-Ukraine, there is a wide and narrow-gauge railway and stations of Ukrainian cities. Carriage models were bought in other countries and produced with their own hands. The wireframes are 3D printed and painted according to real samples.

“We buy many carriages, there are those that we make ourselves. We don’t have many manufacturers, – Pavel Gushchin explained. “One train from several wagons costs about 900 euros.” A team of six people has been creating one carriage independently for almost a month.

There are also electric trains, in particular, the “Carpathian Express” – electric train EP2 with the communication Lviv-Mukachevo.

One of the most interesting locations of the model is the railway station in Gaivoron.

“This is a unique place where narrow-track and wide-track railways are combined. However, now there has been a reconstruction of the building, and we have reproduced everything in the old version. A drawing was sent to us by a subscriber, ”Pavel emphasized.

The layout for public viewing is planned to be exhibited in April next year in the entertainment center “Blockbuster” in Kyiv. After the completion of the main work on the project, the exposition will continue to be supplemented with new objects.

And a note on the war

The impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War can be seen at the bottom of the Miniland UA website:

If there is an air-raid alarm at the time of visiting the museum, each visitor will receive a Reserve ticket, which gives the right to re-visit the museum for free within a week from the moment of its issuance.

Further reading

More photos at the Miniland UA Instagram page.

Miniland UA also have a shop selling HO scale models of Ukrainian trains, along with decals for repainting models in Ukrainian Railways liveries.

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A parade of historic trams on the streets of Moscow

Each year to mark the anniversary of the Moscow tramway system a parade of historic and modern trams heads through the city streets.


Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua

The most recent event was held in April 2024 for the 125th anniversary of the system.

The Moscow tramway system, an integral part of the Russian capital’s public transport service offering, celebrated its 125th anniversary in style last weekend. The capital’s tram system, which has been in operation since 6 April 1899, celebrated this milestone with a series of events that paid tribute to its varied past and highlighted its current positive future prospects.

The festivities kicked off with a tramway parade along Lesnaya Street on Saturday 6 April 2024, featuring a diverse collection of trams from different eras. Beyond the parade, Tverskaya Zastava Square became the center of attraction, hosting an exhibition that showcased an impressive array of historical cars and vehicles, drawing enthusiasts and curious spectators alike.

From its inception, the Moscow tram has served as the cornerstone of the city’s urban rail transport system. Reflecting on a decade ago, the landscape was dominated by last-generation trams characterized by high floors and access through turnstiles at the first door, often mingling with car traffic and susceptible to delays from frequent road mishaps.

In a bold step forward, Moscow has since positioned itself at the forefront of tram network development and infrastructure across Russia. Since 2017, more than 500 state-of-the-art, Russian-manufactured trams have been introduced to the streets of Moscow, revolutionizing the urban transit experience with a remarkable 95% renewal rate of the fleet.

By 2030, the ambition is to further bolster the tram fleet with an additional 200 latest-generation, fully low-floor trams. Efforts to enhance the commuter experience continue unabated, with ongoing track upgrades to segregate tram lines from vehicular traffic and the installation of elevated platforms at stops.

The anniversary celebrations also featured the highly anticipated Tram Parade at Belorussky Station, attracting over 200,000 attendees. The growing fascination with tram parades and the increasing yearly turnout underscore the deep connective tissue between the Moscow tram system and its community.

And Associated Press covered the 2019 event.

Thousands of Muscovites turned up to take a trip down memory lane on 19 tram carriages from various historical eras.

The oldest tram on display had to be pulled by horses, the newest is still in operation. Horse trams are operated by a coachman and managed in a similar way to a coach. Driven by two or four horses such trams entered the transport system for the first time on 7 July 1872.

It was in the late 1980s and early 90s that Moscow Transport started collecting and restoring old trams for historical purposes. “We had to search for those carriages literally at some backyards, dachas, dumps. These carriages, their restoration is a result of big work, big money, big historical work,” says Gennadiy Narykov, from the Moscow Transport Museum.

Until this year tram parade was held once a year on 7 April, on the date of the launch of the first electric tram in 1899. However, the event became so popular with public that it was decided to hold it twice a year.

This tram, built in the early 1930s, was the first in the collection. Restored in 1987 it became a movie star after featuring on a few well-known Soviet films.

Including a video of the parade.

Further reading

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Birthday train parade on the Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro has a long history of serving the capital of Russia, so beginning in 2015 with the 80th anniversary of the official opening, an annual ‘train parade’ has been held to celebrate the history of the system.

Replica of the original 1934-vintage Moscow Metro train in service

An example of these parades was that held on 15 May 2022, which was captured by Amery Tverskoy.

The seven trains taking part in the parade were:

The parade included both modern and historic trains.

The Moscow Metro is a world leader in the rate of renewal of carriages. From 2011 to 2021, the metro received more than 3,700 new cars, due to which the share of modern trains increased more than five times – to 70 percent.

Over 87 years, more than 10 types of trains ran along the metro lines. Different generations of cars are a unique reflection of the history of the Moscow Metro. Therefore, since 2015, a train parade has been held annually in honor of the metro’s birthday.

On May 14 and 15, on the Circle Line, passengers will be able to travel on any of seven types of trains; they will run counterclockwise.

And a static exhibition of historic trains was also held.

On May 13, an exhibition of retro cars opened on the third track of the Partizanskaya metro station. Until May 16, passengers can see five historic carriages that ran on the subway from the 1940s until 2008.

The oldest one presented at the exhibition is a G-type carriage. They have been running on metro lines as part of trains since 1940. The car of this type had more rounded outlines compared to its predecessors – A and B. They were the first to be painted blue, which later became traditional for metro rolling stock.

At the exhibition you can also see a type D carriage. It was produced since 1955, it was lighter, and also had improved electronic equipment compared to type G. Passengers will also see a type E carriage, it is four tons lighter than its predecessor and has wider doors.

In addition, it will be possible to inspect two service cars. Among them is UM5, the oldest track-measuring car, and the contact-battery electric locomotive VEKA.

Further reading

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Retrofitting a junction for the Northern Line Extension

Retrofitting junctions onto existing underground railways – yes, I’m back on the same topic again! This month we stay in London, as we look at the Northern Line Extension.

The Northern Line Extension was first floated in 2010, as a privately funded extension of the Northern line to serve a urban renewal of the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station areas.

The £500 million project was given the go ahead in August 2014, with the 3.22 km long underground line branching from the Northern line at Kennington.

Construction started in 2015 using a pair of conventional tunnel boring machines, each digging a single track tunnel.

But there was one problem to be solved – joining into the existing London Underground tunnels at Kennington. The solution – a ‘step plate junction’.


OTB Engineering diagram

Where a new larger tunnel was constructed around the existing.


Photo via newcivilengineer.com

But with a modern twist – sprayed concrete was used for the initial tunnel lining rather than the more conventional timber strutting, and the larger tunnel diameter allowed the use of mechanised equipment.

Contracted by Flo J/V (Ferrovial Laing O’Rourke Joint Venture), OTB Engineering was responsible for developing the award winning step-plate junction design – an innovative solution combining century old technology with twenty first century knowhow which will future proof further tunnel expansions for TfL. OTB’s answer was to design a hybrid solution, combining both temporary and permanent works. In this way the team could ensure its solution was the most cost and risk efficient.

To give this challenge some context, the last time step-plate junction technology was employed by TfL was for the Jubilee Line in the mid 1990s. At that point the technology used was over a century old. OTB Engineering’s method developed for the Northern Line Extension is ground-breaking; it provides TfL with a proven means of enlarging any of its tunnels in the future (e.g. to provide a station platform or turnout).

Speeding up the tunnelling process.

Test trains were using the new line from July 2021, with the extension to Battersea Power Station opening to passengers on 20 September 2021.

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Retrofitting a new platform at Bank station

I’ve written many a blog posts about how metro systems have retrofitted new underground stations into existing operating railways, and this time we’re looking at Bank station on the London Underground.

Bank station forms part of the Bank-Monument station complex, constructed between 1884 and 1991, and served by five lines of the London Underground as well as the Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Between 2003 and 2014 the number of passengers using the Bank–Monument station complex rose by over 50% to 337,000 per day, leading to congestion in the narrow interchange passageways and staircases between the multiple platforms that make up the station.

As a result, the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade Project was launched to build a new southbound platform for Northern line trains, convert the existing platform into an interchange passage, and provide new escalators to the Central line, DLR platforms, and the surface exits.

The tunnelling contract was awarded to Dragados in 2013, and work started in 2016. The first phase was uneventful.

The Dragados-led team finished the first phase of the project – the excavation, waterproofing and concrete lining of the new 1.5km long southbound running tunnel – in October 2020. During this phase, three new escalator shafts were excavated to link the Northern line to the DLR and to the new entrance. A new link tunnel to connect the Northern and Central lines was also excavated.

With pedestrian walkways ready to be connected into the current station.

But a sticking point was the tie in between new and old southbound running tunnels. A ‘step plate junction’ was considered, where trains could keep running while a large diameter tunnel was built around the existing one, but this was not possible due to the constrained site.

Unfortunately, the locations where the new running tunnel connects with the old do not permit the construction of step-plate junctions, which could have been built around the running tunnels with shorter closures.

The southern connection is close to the river and possibly in ground disturbed by the piles of the original London Bridge; this is the same situation encountered when the new southbound Northern Line platform was constructed at London Bridge station.

To the north, the junction will be beneath the junction of Lothbury, Princes Street, and Moorgate. At this point the Northern Line running tunnels are one above the other as they curve north into Moorgate, and there is insufficient room to build a step-plate tunnel.

And so a more disruptive method was chosen, which required a 17 week shutdown of the line in January 2022 to tie in the new to the old.

The second and more complicated phase got underway in January 2022 with the start of a 17 week “blockade”, during which Northern line services on the Bank branch between Moorgate and Kennington were suspended. Work carried out during this period, which ended in mid-May, involved connecting the new southbound Northern line tunnel to the existing southbound tunnel.

The north and south ends of the new running tunnel stopped about 1m away from the existing southbound Northern line running tunnel. As a result, tunnelling was needed to connect the ends of the new tunnel with the existing line. This involved creating a 55m long tunnel with sprayed concrete lining (SCL) for the south tie in and a 44m SCL tunnel for the northern one.

Dragados opted for the “plug and drive” method of tunnelling. To create the tie ins during the blockade, the team backfilled the existing but soon to be redundant southbound running tunnel with foam concrete. Then the team used a continuous mining tunnel excavator to mine through the London Clay and demolish the existing cast iron lined running tunnels and tie in the new section of tunnel with the existing one at each end of the station.

Once the tunnel connections were completed, Dragados constructed the trackbed and then installed the remaining 185m of track in the tunnels, in addition to the 490m that had already been laid before the closure. It then handed over to TfL so it could start testing and commissioning the signalling systems needed to bring trains into the new southbound platform.

The new Northern line southbound platform and concourse was opened in May 2022, with the new interchange passageways and escalators opening in the months to follow, with the project completed in February 2023.

The station now has 27 escalators, the most of any station on the London Underground.

Further reading

Behind the scenes at Bank tube station’s huge upgrade project at ianVisits.

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Dachnoye station on the Saint Petersburg Metro

I’ve written about above ground Metro lines and stations of the Moscow Metro, but Saint Petersburg also had one – Dachnoye station.


Postcard from 1968

The station opened on June 1, 1966 to serve the growing neighbourhoods beyond the existing Line 1 terminus at Avtovo, until a planned extension of the metro south to Leninisky Prospekt and Prospekt Veteranov could be completed.

Dachnoye was the only surface station ever constructed in Saint Petersburg, and was a utilitarian affair designed by architect Kseniya Afonskaya, with the platform and roof made out of precast concrete panels.


Photo via subway-spb.ru

Construction of the new station also cheap, with the 1.5 km extension utilising existing tracks that served the electric train depot at Avtovo.

The station tracks branching from those leading into the train sheds, leading into an island platform for terminating trains, which used a scissors crossover to depart.


Photo via subway-spb.ru

On 5 October 1977, the extension of Line 1 to Leninskiy Prospect and Prospect Veteranov was completed, and Dachnoye station was taken out of service. The station was then demolished, with the exception of a short section of platform, which has since been converted into local traffic police headquarters.

Footnote: other examples

On the Moscow Metro Pervomayskaya and Kaluzhskaya were temporary stations constructed inside a train depot itself, while the rest of the network has many ground level stations and sections of track.

Further reading

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Crazy tram junctions of Innsbruck

Innsbruck is one of many Austrian cities with tramways, but the network has one interesting feature – exceedingly complicated junctions.

Peerhofsiedlung terminus has a interleaved scissors crossover on a curve.


Google Street View

As does the terminus at Technik West, which combines a double track dead end with a single track stub.


Google Street View

The track lead to the depot at Duilestraße is another example of an asymmetrical interleaved curved scissors crossover.


Google Street View

While the track that forms the mainline connection swings from right to left using a curved crossover.


Google Street View

That makes the web of tracks leading to the older depot at Pastorstraße look relatively sensible.


Google Street View

But then there is the junction of Museumstrasse and Brunecker Strasse – a pair of doppelkreuzungsweiche (double crossovers) located in the middle of the street.


Google Street View

And this tangle of tram tracks outside Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof that don’t lead anywhere – the third leg is there for future network expansion.

So why are the tram tracks co complicated? My assumption is that 2000s upgrade of the legacy tram network into a modern light rail system were the driver.

The decision of the city authorities in 1999 to retain and expand the tram network triggered an ongoing programme of construction and renovation. This involved a certain amount of disruption during summer months because of extensive upgrade of track beds and tracks, involving much pouring of concrete.

Part of the strategy called for wider tramcars: new trams would be 2.4 m (94 in) wide. Hitherto, tram widths in Innsbruck had been restricted to 2.2 m (87 in). While the track gauge was unaffected, the loading gauge was not, so that twin tracks had to be farther apart and greater clearance was needed for buildings and street furniture. This necessitated the largest re-laying of track since 1911. Some of the depots were also to be renewed, rescaled, and brought up to date.

The new trams strategy was formally adopted by the Innsbruck City Council in September 2001. By 2004, the tram terminus in front of the main station had been reconstructed, with the terminus for the Stubai Valley Railway and other regional meter-gauge mountain railways. In 2005, work was completed on preparing the tracks in Andreas Hofer Street and Anich Street for the wider trams, and the first tram halts were adapted for use with low-floor trams so that, for the first time, passengers would be able to access new trams without having to negotiate one or more steps. The first low-floor tram was delivered on 17 October 2007.

At the end of 2007 the authorities issued the final version of their plan for the reconstruction of the city and regional tram and rail networks, and this was agreed by the city council at the start of 2008. In 2010, work began on tackling further upgrades on the lines at the heart of the old network, with new tracks at the interchange area around Brunecker Street and Museum Street. Brunecker Street again received a second usable track.

Further reading

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