Metro: Line 4 is 100% automated
Since 2022, metro line 4 has been getting a makeover, with the gradual arrival of fully automated shuttles between Bagneux and Porte de Clignancourt and the extension of the line between Mairie de Montrouge and Bagneux.
And in January 2024, the automation of the line will take a new step forward with 100% automatic shuttles in circulation!
What are the advantages? What is an automatic metro? We take stock.
What is a fully automatic line?
On lines 1 and 14, and now also on line 4, the metros run without a driver on board. The vehicle is controlled remotely, from a control centre.
On all the other lines, except for 3bis, 7bis and 10, which are not automatic at all, automation is partial. What does that mean exactly? That the pilot is automatic, but that a driver remains on board to ensure safety, the opening and closing of the doors and to take over in the event of an incident.
Why automate a metro line?
- Less waiting and more regularity : the offer on an automatic line is adapted in real time. More passengers during rush hour? The shuttles are moving on to make traffic more fluid.
- More safety : a 100% automatic line means platform screen doors on the platforms. What are platform screen doors? These are large automatic glass doors that protect the edge of the platforms to prevent any fall on the tracks.
- Better passenger information : with information screens and dynamic maps updated in real time.
- Less waiting between two metros : automatic driving reduces the distance between two trains in circulation (what is called the "railway canton") and thus reduces the waiting time between two passages.
Which metros run on line 4?
On line 4, you can board three generations of automatic metros :
- MP89 and MP05 : the old metro lines of line 14, renovated and modernised, run on line 4,
- The brand new "MP14" pneumatic metros : fully automatic, they also run on line 14 and line 11 (but in a version with a driver, on the latter)
