Metropolitan Paris

Watch in High Definition! This video shows the footage I took of the Paris Metro during my recent trip to Europe. Included is a video of the platforms of a typical Paris Metro Station, a ride on Line 9 from Grands Boulevards Station to Strasbourg Saint-Denis Station, the train departing, and a rubber-tire Line 4 train arriving. Note that on the Metro, the doors are operated by the passengers rather than the operator automatically opening them. Interestingly, the operator enables the door opener before the train comes to a stop, allowing passengers to disembark while the train grinds to a halt. Those of you that are familiar with US railroad rules would know that this would be a major safety violation in the US Also note that the door openers on Line 9 equipment (as with most of the older equipment in the system) are actually handles instead of buttons. Newer equipment such as that on line 4 has buttons. The Metro is unique in that some lines have rails (such as Line 9) and some have trains with rubber tires that run of flat tracks with guide rails (such as Line 4) producing a strange whooshing noise. The Paris Metro System is historically significant, although it was somewhat of a disappointment. Most trains lacked air conditioning (a serious problem in the middle of a humid summer), they smelled bad (because people were sweating from the oppressive heat), and the stations were constructed in a less than ideal manner. None of the lines share tracks (at least anywhere I …