Paris Métro Line 8 (French: Ligne 8 du métro de Paris) is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro. It connects Balard in the southwestern part of Paris to Pointe du Lac station in the southeastern suburbs, following a parabolic route on the Rive Droite of the Seine. The last line of the original 1898 Paris Métro plan, which opened in July 1913, it was initially intended to link Porte d'Auteuil and Opéra. With 105.5 million travellers in 2017, it is the network's eighth busiest line; at in length, it is also the second longest Métro Line after Line 13, and the longest fully straight line, as line 13 has branches. Along with Line 7, it serves the most stations of any line on the network, at 38. Line 8 interchanges with all but three other Métro lines (Line 2, Line 3bis and Line 7bis).
The line was substantially modified during the 1930s as Line 10 took over the western section. The current route serves the southwestern part of the city, the Grands Boulevards and Bois de Vincennes, 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. The underground line was the first to connect the prefecture of one of the new departments of Île-de-France. The only Paris underground line to cross the Seine and its principal tributary, the Marne, 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 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. 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 were eventually closed. 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. 8 October 2011: Line extended from Créteil – Préfecture to Pointe du Lac.
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.
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 planned to be built later.
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.