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.
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.
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.
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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
Given what appears to be a France 3 watermark and that Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA) is the legal deposit archive for French television, I believe it is France 3 footage archived by the INA, rather than being by the INA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_national_de_l%27audiovisuel
Thanks for that – I reckon you’re spot on.