The
Transilien is the brand name for railway services
of the SNCF-owned railway network operating
within Paris' Île-de-France
région. "Transilien" is a
derivative of "Francilien", a term commonly used to describe the
inhabitants of the Île-de-France région.
Transilien trains depart
from Paris' main railway and RER
stations
(although many city-centre RER stations are
run by the RATP) and the western business
district of La
Défense
. Transilien services transported 615 million
passengers in 2004.
History
The first
line to the suburbs of Paris
was opened
on the 26 August 1837. The route went from Paris-Saint-Lazare
to Le
Pecq
. The railway link was thought of as key to
the western suburbs. On
1 October 1972, the line was handed over to the RER, and
commenced service as the
RER's ligne A.
During the
Paris riots
of 2005, Transilien withdrew its services to the suburbs, for fear
of the safety of their staff.
The Transilien today
The transilien is divided into six key entities, which are divided
according to SNCF guidelines and are in no way related to the
departmental boundaries. The lines are then divided into branches
which, similarly to the RER, are given letters, although until
2005, these letters were unknown to the wider travelling
public.
The six Transilien entities are:
The system is slightly complicated, in that for each different
entity, structures are very different. Key complications
include:
- The power supplies
- The numbers of branches
- The lack of onward transportation beyond the termini
- Density of trains on the network
- The mix of traffic on the railway including express trains,
freight trains, long distance trains, Transilien trains and RER
traffic.
The importance of these glitches in the network are visible at
times when SNCF staff go on strike or when serious technical
problems occur on the network. Thousands of travellers arrive late
for work, or when there are serious problems, decide not to go into
work causing a huge financial burden for companies.
The extent of the lines means that concentric zoning is used.
Trains bound for the outer zones are normally operated as express
trains, meaning trains serve Paris termini then operate non-stop to
the outer zones, meaning less travel time.
Transilen entities
The trains
on this line operate from Gare Montparnasse
along the following routes:
- Transilien N
- Paris Montparnasse - Mantes-la-Jolie via Plaisir-Grignon
- Paris Montparnasse - Houdan - Dreux (first stop
Versailles-Chantiers, then Plaisir-Grignon and then all stations to
Dreux)
- Paris Montparnasse - Rambouillet
The trains on this line operate from
Gare
de Lyon along the following routes :
- Transilien R
- Paris Lyon - Montereau via Moret-Veneux-les-Sablons
- Paris Lyon - Souppes-Château-Landon - Montargis
- Melun - Montereau via Héricy
The trains
on this line operate from Gare du Nord
along the following routes:
- Transilien K
- Gare du Nord - Dammartin Juilly Saint-Mard -
Crépy-en-Valois
- Transilien H
- Gare du Nord - Luzarches
- Gare du Nord - Persan-Beaumont via Montsoult-Maffliers (Eastern
branch) or via Ermont-Eaubonne (Western Branch)
- Gare du Nord - Pontoise - Persan-Beaumont - Bruyères-sur-Oise -
Creil
The trains
on this line operate from Gare de l'Est
along the following routes:
- Transilien P North
- Paris Est - Meaux
- Paris Est - Crouy-sur-Ourcq - La Ferté-Milon
- Paris Est - Nanteuil-Saâcy - Château-Thierry
- Paris Est - Esbly - Crécy-la-Chapelle
- Transilien P South
- Paris Est - Longueville - Provins
- Paris Est - Coulommiers
- Paris Est - La Ferté-Gaucher
The trains
on this line operate from Gare Saint-Lazare along the following routes:
- Transilien J North
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Cormeilles-en-Parisis
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Pontoise
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Chars - Gisors
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Mantes-la-Jolie par Conflans
- Transilien J South
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Poissy - Mantes-la-Jolie
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Port-Villez - Vernon
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Bréval - Évreux (via Mantes-la Jolie)
Transilien L NorthParis Saint-Lazare - Cergy-le-Haut
- Transilien L South
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Saint-Cloud
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Versailles-rive-droite
- Paris Saint-Lazare - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche
- Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Grande
ceinture - Noisy-le-Roi
The
trains on this line operate from La Défense
station along the following route:
External links