Paris Metro Line 8 () is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro currently opened. It connects Balard (Porte de Sèvres) in the southwestern part of Paris to Pointe du Lac station in the southeastern suburban city of Créteil, prefecture of the Val-de-Marne department, following a parabolic route across Paris. Last line proposed by Fulgence Bienvenüe's original 1898 Paris Métro project, line 8 opened in July 1913 and was initially intended to link and . With 105.5 million passengers in 2017, it is the network's eighth busiest line, as well as the current third longest (after Lines 13 and 14, even though Line 13 has a fork, and Line 15 is set to become the longest once fully opened), at in length. Alongside Line 7, it serves 38 distinct stations, the most of any line on the network, Grand Paris Express (lines 15 to 18) included. Line 8 interchanges with all other Métro lines but three : Lines 2, 3bis and 7bis.
The line was substantially modified during the 1930s as Line 10 took over the western section from La Motte - Picquet to Porte d'Auteuil. The current route serves the southwestern part of the French Capital, including the Champ de Mars, the Invalides, the Concorde Place, the Opéra Garnier, the Grands Boulevards, The places of République and Bastille as well as the Bois de Vincennes, before ending in the southeastern inner suburbs through the communes of Charenton-le-Pont, Maisons-Alfort and Créteil, which the line reached in 1974 at Créteil–Préfecture station, after several extensions. Line 8 was the first to connect the prefecture of one of the new departments of Île-de-France, more than a decade before Line 5 to Bobigny, and Line 15 to Nanterre in the near-future. Line 8 is also the only Paris underground line to cross the Seine and its principal tributary, the Marne river, above ground via a bridge between Charenton – Écoles and École Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, it also crosses the Seine underground between Concorde and Invalides.
History
Timeline
13 July 1913: Line 8 opened between Beaugrenelle (now Charles Michels) and Opéra. 30 September 1913: Line extended from Beaugrenelle to Porte d'Auteuil. 30 June 1928: Northern extension from Opéra to Richelieu-Drouot 5 May 1931: Line extended from Richelieu-Drouot to Porte de Charenton in one move. 27 July 1937: Section between La Motte-Picquet and Porte d'Auteuil transferred to Line 10 ; Line 8 extended from La Motte-Picquet to Balard. 2 September 1939: Like many other stations, service to Saint-Martin and Champ de Mars was halted because of World War II; both stations never reopened. 5 October 1942: Line extended eastbound from Porte de Charenton to Charenton – Écoles. 19 September 1970: Line extended from Charenton – Écoles to Maisons-Alfort – Stade. 27 April 1972: Line extended from Maisons-Alfort – Stade to Maisons-Alfort – Les Juillottes. 24 September 1973: Line extended from Maisons-Alfort – Les Julliottes to Créteil–L'Echat. 9 September 1974: Line extended from Créteil–L'Echat to Créteil–Préfecture. June 1980: Rolling stock cascades to the MF 77 train, last Sprague-Thomson train is removed. 8 October 2011: Line extended from Créteil–Préfecture to Pointe du Lac. 2023: Refurbishment begins on the line's MF 77 trains, after lines 13 and 7. 2029: Arrival of the MF 19 rolling stock on line 8, after lines 10, 7bis, 3bis, 13 and 12, but before lines 3 and 7.
Birth of the line
Line 8 was the last line created by the concession of 30 March 1898, and the déclaration d'utilité publique was approved on 6 April 1903. The project would connect Opéra with Porte d'Auteuil via Grenelle with a shuttle, similar to the network's other lines. In accordance with the plan to operate Line 7 with a junction on the outskirts of Paris, a branch towards the Porte de Sèvres (today Balard) starting from the Grenelle station was planned to be built subsequently. The trains would alternately run on the two branches, like for lines 3, 7 and now 13.
Construction of the underwater crossing of the Seine began in April 1908 between the Concorde and Invalides stations, at the level of Pont Mirabeau. It was finished in January 1911, after a lengthy delay caused by the 1910 flood. The crossing was routed with a curve 250 metres away.
Although metal caissons were originally planned to be sunk vertically (as had been done on Line 4), a tunnel was drilled following a single circular tube with the aid of a shield; authorities opposed the first method because of the risks to boating. However, the crossing near Pont Mirabeau was made with vertical caissons. The Invalides-Javel section was completed in 1910. The Grenelle station was planned as a double station with platforms on two levels, with the aim to later send trains on the two branches. However, only one station with a central platform was built, as the Balard branch was delayed.
Before the completion of work near Pont Mirabeau, the line opened to the public on 13 July 1913 between Beaugrenelle and Opéra; the extension to Porte d'Auteuil followed on 30 September. The Invalides and Concorde stations were still unfinished and opened on 24 December 1913 and 12 March 1914, respectively. In 1914, the line had fifteen stations between Porte d'Auteuil and Opéra.
First extensions Extension of the line began on 29 December 1922, intending to transform Line 8 into a parabolic axis connecting Auteuil to Porte de Charenton via Opéra, Place de la République, Place de la Bastille, Avenue Daumesnil in the 12th arrondissement and Porte de Picpus. As part of the extension, a common route with Line 9 between the Richelieu – Drouot and République stations was planned in order to limit the impact of this problematic section on street traffic. Located on the former course of the Seine, the ground is soft and the initial plan to build two parallel tunnels generated lengthy controversy.
The first new section opened on 30 June 1928, extending the line by to Richelieu – Drouot from Opéra. With an increase in traffic forecast, at its 21 March 1926 meeting the Municipal Council of Paris decided to increase the new Line 7, 8 and 9 station length from to to use stock seven-car trains. Although lengthening the old stations was planned later, the work was never completed. The new Richelieu – Drouot station was the system's first station, but train length was limited by the shorter stations.
The 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition in Bois de Vincennes necessitated the extension of Line 8 to Porte Dorée for its opening. The extension of the line to Porte de Charenton, including the construction of seventeen 105-metre stations, was agreed on 25 March 1924 and work began in 1928. The configuration of Lines 8 and 9, under the Grands Boulevards' wet and unstable ground, drove the decision to extend the line on two levels. The Line 8 stations are on the upper level: two half-stations, separated by a central supporting wall to ensure stability. The extension was completed in March 1931 and opened to the public on 5 May, ending at Porte de Charenton. The line now included thirty-three stations between Porte d'Auteuil and Porte de Charenton.
Major restructuring
The line's southwestern portion was modified in 1937, with the system's circular lines replaced by axes crossing the city. Instead of connecting the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes as previously expected, Line 8 was now meant to connect Balard and Porte de Charenton, using the delayed portion of the line initially expected as a branch. The changes affected several lines; Line 8 had a new terminus at Balard, and the old section the line between La Motte-Picquet and Porte d'Auteuil was reassigned to Line 10 initially ending at Invalides as part of the subway rocade project now cancelled.
The La Motte-Picquet - Grenelle station was modified so that Line 8 trains departed only for Balard, instead of alternating between Auteuil and Balard as originally expected:
The original underground station, connected to Champ de Mars on both tracks, was modified so its western platform (initially welcoming Line 8 trains heading south to Auteuil) would instead welcome Line 10's trains headed south to Auteuil. Its central platform, initially welcoming Line 8's trains coming back from Auteuil, now welcomes line 10's trains headed back from Auteuil. The eastern platform would receive Line 8 trains heading North as usual, except that these now come from Balard instead of Auteuil. A new station was built right below the western platform, in order to accommodate the Line 8 trains now headed south to Balard.
The section between Duroc and Invalides was transferred to the old Line 14, which eventually merged with Line 13 in 1976 to become the actual Line 13.
The section between La Motte-Picquet and Balard opened on 27 July 1937, at the same time as the Javel maintenance workshop. At that time, the line included thirty-one stations between Balard and Porte de Charenton.
Second wave of extensions toward Créteil The extension to Charenton-le-Pont was approved on 24 December 1929. Work began in 1936, and a opened on 5 October 1942. Two new stations were created: Liberté and Charenton – Écoles in Charenton-le-Pont. Although in 1942 the line had thirty-three stations, Champ de Mars and Saint-Martin were closed on 2 September 1939.
After the war, the only metro extension was Line 13 (to Carrefour Pleyel) in 1952. Investment programmes in 1965 and 1967 envisaged three extensions. One was Line 8 to Maisons-Alfort, due to overcrowding at Charenton-le-Pont which disrupted bus service to Charenton. The extension required crossing the Marne on a viaduct, since the Charenton – Écoles station was at the edge of a cliff north of the river.
A concrete, viaduct was built in spring 1968. Aesthetically designed to integrate with the landscape, it has six supports (including one of its three piers in the river. The two central spans are long, and the two side spans long. The structural steel is a continuous metal beam, supported by two vertical beams. These beams frame the bottom of the trains, and the rails are laid on track ballast, for noise reduction. On the north, the viaduct overhangs the A4 autoroute before going underground on a access ramp. On the south, the line immediately goes underground on a ramp. The viaduct has a continuous slope of 40 mm/m, enabling it to go underground when it crosses the left bank of the Marne. In June 1969 the metal beams were put in place, and the structure was completed in November.
This viaduct, the first built since the Line 6 viaduct in 1909, leads to a three-track tunnel to the terminus. The section from Charenton – Écoles to Maisons-Alfort – Stade opened on 19 September 1970.
Extension to Créteil Créteil became a prefecture after the creation of the department of Val-de-Marne, resulting in an increase in population, and a new extension was quickly begun in several stages. The line reached Maisons-Alfort – Les Juilliottes on 27 April 1972 in a tunnel. It enters Créteil on , open-air tracks in the median of a highway. The Créteil–L'Échat station, with a central platform, opened on 24 September 1973; Créteil–Préfecture station, with three tracks and two platforms, opened on 10 September 1974. This was the first Paris Métro connection between the Capital and the prefecture of a bordering department, extending the line to over and 37 stations.
The extensions triggered a change from a single fare to fares by section on 19 September 1970, when the extension to opened. Stations are equipped with an automatic check at the exit with a turnstile, and travellers paid a supplementary fare to exit. The system returned to a single fare on 1 November 1982.