Tuesday 16 December - Opening of new tramway T8

After lunch at le Bon Georges (foie gras and scallops) I went off to metro Saint Denis Porte de Paris to be at the opening of the new tramway T8. There were no details on the RATP web site although it was announced briefly on TV3 news yesterday. At the station there were no signs at all, in fact the only indication were two flags close to a raised dais. There was still a lot of work to do and it quickly became evident that the opening should have been delayed until the tramway was ready. The area is very different from Chatillon last Saturday although both are high density. This area is diverse and contains many middle Eastern and north African businesses.
The opening was announced for 1600 - just at the beginning of the evening rush.

A spare set waiting at the Saint-Denis terminus.  These five unit trams have three trucks but they are not articulated, the second and fourth "cars" are hung between the adjacent cars.

There were a lot of RATP personnel in high visibility jackets, at times they outnumbered the potential passengers.

At 1515 there was not a great deal of action

The first tram in with invited guests

A tram arrived full to the gills with invited guests, another followed it. There was organized chaos as the guests were channelled politely towards the stand for speeches. Finally a tram full of the important people arrived wrong line and the cameras started rolling. This formed the first official tram out. It was well filled but I managed to get a seat. We took off about five minutes late and we had to stop by the reviewing stand for photo ops.

Tram congestion - three trams in the holding sidings at Saint-Denis with another one in the departure platform at my back.The right of way is nicely grassed or concreted.  Note the blades of the switches are in the concrete and not in the grass.

The trams are very smooth, pleasant and quiet but the journey to the end of the line at Épinay Orgemont took an age.  There was a wait for 5 minutes to smooth out the traffic flows which was strange as we were the first tram out. There are many sections where speed is severely limited by very tight curves, a consequence of trying to fit a tramway into an existing built up urban area. There were many stops for traffic and I hope the RATP can get the sequencing sorted out. Adjusting the traffic lights to give trams priority can take some time - it took months on the first section of T3.

At Épinay Orgemont a group of drummers entered the tram and livened things up.

As of tomorrow the RATP is making changes to some 15 bus routes and eliminating two others. It might have been better to have delayed the opening of the tramway until the kinks had been eliminated.
It was good to finally ride over the double line of T1 at Saint Denis Gare where the four diamond crossings have been in place for several years. There were some decorations at several of the stations and a group of drummers at the terminus. I have the impression that the RATP opened the tramway to make good on their published plan to open by the end of 2014 rather than to ensure it was really ready.
After at slow return I decided not to go on the branch to Villetaneuse Université. I can leave that and the crossing at Saint Denis Gare for another day.

 

It was getting dark when I arrived back at Saint-Denis.  On the left is an outgoing tram.  On the right is the first tram back from Épinay Orgemont.

Monday 15 December - Errands

The weather is forecast to be wet this week.  We got up late. Mary went to a cordonnerie to get her bag repaired - it will be ready tomorrow.  Monoprix has opened a new downstairs section which will give them much more space. Much of the new space was taken up with wine and champagne - not surprising at this time of year.
I went over to the Alsatian Christmas Market in the forecourt of the Gare de l'Est to get a bottle of Alsatian Malt Whisky.

Alsatian malt whisky. Not bad, a little rough but very pleasant, but no peaty overtones.

Madame at Diva et Chocolats was getting into the Chrustmas spirit.

Sunday 14 December - Provins

The weather forecast was for sunny or misty  today but rainy for the rest of the week. This is the day that Provins has its Christmas market and medieval extravaganza so we decided to take the train. We found out that the 0946 from Gare de l'Est does not run Sundays and the 1046 was very much overcrowded being a short train.  The platform was only announced about ten minutes before departure and it seems the toilets are all locked out of service so they don't have to be maintained.  Once again SNCF does not give a damn about its passengers.  I have yet to find a fully functioning toilet on a train this trip.
The train was very full and many had to stand for over an hour. Many were in medieval costume. We ran through dense fog until just before Longueville when the sun broke through and stayed that way all the time we were at Provins. On the platform at Provins a couple of hunting horns were sounded and we followed the horns up to the hill top where the market is held. Many, including kids, were in medieval dress, suits of armour, leather or wool covers. Medieval instruments were being played and there were impromptu processions.
The weather was excellent with full sun - it seems the mist did not clear fully in Paris. We had mulled wine and hot chestnuts and then made our way slowly to the station where our train was a long one with just a handful of passengers.  SNCF managed to get everything wrong. On the way back from Gare de l'Est we stopped off at Sacré Coeur and Place des Abbesses.

The roast chestnuts were pretty much carbonized

Saturday 13 December - Opening of the Paris T6 Tramway

Waiting for the off. The first one was that on the right

The T6 tramway from Chatillon to Robert Wagner was opened today - it is free all weekend. An extension to Viroflay will open some time next year. It was cold and wet which probably helped to keep the crowds down to manageable proportions. I arrived at Chatillon around 1030 expecting things to start up at 1100. Instead I found out that the festivities were due to start at 1100 with Brazillian drummers, there was to be a formal inauguration at 1130 and the first tram was due to leave at 1200. 

To kill some time, warm up and make myself comfortable I found a cafe. Back at the event France TV3 were broadcasting from a makeshift studio. Both tramway platforms were beginning to fill up by 1100 and the numerous security personnel were herding people around in a somewhat random fashion. The drummers started around 1115 and the crowd began to sway to the beat. The people seemed mostly local with a large proportion of elderly although there were a great number of small kids.

The dignitaries tram arrives

Security moved people away from the arrival platform and made room for the arrival of a tram loaded with dignities. There was some sort of ceremony with TV and pictures but I couldn't follow it because I was strategically located on the departure platform with several thousand others. In spite of the weather everybody was in high spirits. 

The first service tram out arrives at the platform

 

Finally, at 1155 the first tram entered the platform and shuddered to a halt. It then jerked forward a couple of feet and finally came to a stop (laughter). The crowd surged forward and everyone chanted "Ouvrez les portes". After several minutes the doors opened and we all rushed inside.  I didn't really have a choice as there would have been no moving against this crowd. As it was I found myself going through the front door of this 6 car tram. Once inside everyone was hooting and cheering but after a couple of minutes this changed to a chant of "Fermez les portes". There was a security guard on the platform at each door keeping people out so the tram was not overfull.  Finally the doors were closed (intense clapping) and the driver welcomed us (loud cheering). We set out a few minutes late (more clapping and comiserating with those poor souls who were left out in the cold).

These trams are rubber tired with a single rail for guidance.  Straight away there were jerks at both starting and stopping.  The acceleration and braking is good but the ride was not very good being rubber tires on concrete. This is a cheaper form of construction that gives nowhere near as good a ride as a two rail system with steel wheels. These trams do not hold as many as a steel wheel tram and the narrow corridor connections create serious bottlenecks in crowd flow. The ride to the end of the line took 39 minutes and many people were getting off before the end to go home.

Several people were surprised at how fast the tram was going compared to the bus. This tramway replaces the number 295 bus route, which was still running today to iron out the gaps in tram frequencies due to heavy overcrowding of the first ones out. The itineraries and timetables of  some 30 bus routes have been changed to take advantage of the new tram, something Ottawa has still failed to do with the introduction of the OTrain.

I caught the first available tram back to Chatillon and came straight back to warm up. Tramway T6 has been enthusiastically opened.

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At Robert Wagner

The connections between cars are quite restricted.

This evening we went to Le Relais de Venise. We arrived about 20 minutes before it opened and were seated quickly. The service was, as usual, quick and efficient and we were out by abut 2015. it was a good dinner.

Friday 12 December - Quai de la Gare

Another cloudy drizzly day today - not condudive to going out although it is pretty warm. I took metro 14 to Bercy and changed for the Quai de la Gare to visit the Opherline model shop. Lots of interesting items but very high prices. It looks as if they have had to cut back. Less stock and more open floor space.
I stopped off at Saint-Lazare on the way back and was surprised to see four 17xxx electrics (043, 026, 046 & 041) together on four of five adjacent platforms.

Five 1960s vintage electric locomotives together at Saint-Lazare

Thursday 11 December - Avenue de Raspail

After a good lunch near the Mouton  Duvernet metro station we walked up to Denfert Rochereau and then along the Boulevard de Raspail. This was new to us and isn't very exciting. The weather was blustery and we returned from Rue du Bac.

 

I returned via Saint-Lazare to find two more blazons.  The locomotive is not very large but it dwarfs the passenger cars.

Wednesday 10 December - Rue de Rome and Buttes Chaumont

I had a quick walk down to Saint Lazare this morning along the the rue de Rome with its many music shops and ateliers.  It is fascinating to see rows and rows of instruments for sale as well as experts making minute repairs to old instruments.

A large display of brass instruments

 

Nothing special in Saint Lazare. No vintage electrics were in evidence. Although a group of protesters got off a train and headed noisily outside.  A job for the Paris Flying Squad.

 

 I found these blazons on two trains for Versailles

It was cloudy and threatening to rain but we decided to see Buttes Chaumont.  The ride along metro 7 bis was very uncomfortable in spite of new equipment. The track needs a lot of attention otherwise the new trains will rapidly deteriorate.

Buttes Chaumont is showing the benefit of the work that has been done in the last few years. There were at least 20 people working on various tasks, including a project to reduce significantly the flow of water through the water fall. The park was opened around 1865 and has been well cared for by generations of city councils. The ducks, moorhens, geese and gulls were in their element but we didn't see any Canada geese. A heron was fishing in the shallows and we later saw it in a tall tree high above the lake.

Buttes Chaumont

Back at Levis we have found a high end chocolatier/patissier who claims to have won many awards.  We certainly enjoyed the two we tried from Pascal Caffet.

Christmas is coming - Rue de Levis

From Pascal Caffet

We had dinner this evening again at Le P'tit Canon.  We are getting to know Isobelle and Christian, the owners, and it is always a friendly experience.  The cooking seems even better than in the past, the soupe a l'onion gratinee had a good deep flavor while the confit de canard was excellent, as were the accompanying crispy fried sliced potatoes.  No room for dessert.