Sunday, 26 July 2026

Mastermind Specialist - One of return of the wiki challenge

Okay, I said yesterday that I was going to take a look at the Wikipedia article on the Paris Metro. Just for fun I’ve derived some questions from the article. I can’t say whether any of them will actually feature, but I’ll be interested to see. Here they are -

How many stations – 361

How many lines – 16

Fully automated lines? – 1,4,14

Operated by? - Régie autonome des transports parisiens (RATP), 

When did it open? - 19 July 1900, during the World's Fair (Exposition Universelle)

First journey? - Porte de Vincennes to Porte Maillot

Originally how many stations opened on first day? 8 

Original operating company -  Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris 

Operating company was part of which group? – Empain group

Name was inspired by? – London Metropolitan Railway

First person to propose an urban railway in Paris? -  Florence de Kérizouet.

De Kerizouet’s plan would have used what? – Cable driven cars

In 1855 who made the first proposal for an underground railway in Paris -  Edouard Brame and Eugène Flachat 

Who did the city commission to plan and design its railway in the 1890s - Jean-Baptiste Berlier,

Whose eponymous project was adopted to limit the Metro and prevent it from extending into outer suburbs - Jean-Baptiste Berlier,

Original plan was for how many lines? – 9

When did construction begin?- November 1898

Who designed the original station entrances – Hector Guimard

How many original station entrances still exist? – 86

Which construction method was originally used? – Cut and Cover

In 1906 which planned line was merged with line 5? Line 2 south

A planned circular section of the metro was abandoned in 1923 after the section between Invalides and which station was completer? -Boulevard St. Germain

In 31 January 1904 which company were awarded the second underground railway concession in Paris - Société du chemin de fer électrique souterrain Nord-Sud de Paris

How many lines were built by Nord – Sud? – 3

In which year did CMP buy out the bankrupt Nord – Sud company ?- 1930

When was the last Nord-Sud train set decommissioned? – 155th May 1972

Which new line replaced the saturated Belleville funicular Railway ? – 11

Which line, the first to leave the city proper, was extended to Boulogne Billancourt in 1934? – Line 9

With which company did CMP merge on 23rd March 1948 to form RATP? – STCRP ( buses and tramways)

What was the designation of the prototype train testing rubber tyre wheels and automated systems? – MP31

In the sixties, what was created to combat the unprofitability of building extensions to the network? - Réseau Express Régional (regional express network; RER).

In which year were Ligne A and Ligne B of the RER inaugurated? – 1977

During construction what was the unofficial designation of what became line 14 in October 1998? (Meteor)

In 1903 what was the cause of the Couronnes Disaster? – Short Circuit

What became mandatory following the disaster – Carriages had to be made of steel

8 February 1962 incident in which 9 were killed? -  Charonne subway massacre

30 August 2000 24 passengers injured through train derailed when going too fast around what? – Notre Dame de Lorette hairpin

From the end of the 1960s an unpopular new style was rolled out in around 20 stations. It was named after the first station to be converted. Which was this? -  Mouton-Duvernet

Replicas of Metro station canopies can be found in several cities. In which city is Square-Victoria-OACI station, with the only original canopy located outside France? (Montreal)

Which symbol was adopted in the mid 70s to warn children of the danger of getting hands trapped in moving doors? – rabbit

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