Montparnasse - Bienvenüe (Paris Métro)

Infobox Paris metro
Name=Montparnasse — Bienvenüe
Day=April 24
Year=1906
Access=59 bis, 71, 73, boul. du Montparnasse
Rue de l'Arrivée, mall
Tour Maine Montparnasse
Gare Montparnasse
31, av. du Maine
2, pl. Bienvenüe
1/3, rue du Départ
Municipality=the 14th arrondissement of Paris
Zone=1
Next=
X=116
Y=107

Montparnasse — Bienvenüe is a station of the Paris Métro which is a transfer point between Lines 4, 6, 12 and 13.It is the fourth busiest station on the metro system.

It provides access to the Tour Montparnasse and the Gare Montparnasse.

History

After 1913, the Montparnasse station was a transfer point between Line 4 and Line 12 and was situated on the Boulevard du Montparnasse. Likewise, the Bienvenüe station was named in honor of the principal engineer of the Paris Métro, Fulgence Bienvenüe (accounting for the unusual diaresis in the station's name) and was located near the entrance to the Gare Montparnasse. It served both Line 6 and Line 13.

At the end of the 1930s, a long corridor was built to connect the two stations. Accordingly, the stations' names were fused to create the one now known as Montparnasse-Bienvenüe on October 6 1942. This long corridor is equipped now with moving sidewalks to facilitate access between the two parts of the Métro station.In 2002, in an experimental move, the RATP installed a moving walkway that moved at 12 km/h, which was then termed the "fastest in the world." (The speed has however been reduced to 9 km/h afterwards). The first several meters consist of metal rollers that accelerate passengers as they hold onto the handrail, because it would be dangerous to step directly onto the fast-moving conveyor.

ee also

* Gare Montparnasse