Raspail (Paris Métro)

Raspail ([ʁaspaj]) is a station of the Paris Métro, serving Line 4 and Line 6 in the 14th arrondissement. The station is now fitted with Platform screen doors, due to the Line 4 being fitted for automation.

Raspail
Paris Métro station
Line 4 platforms at Raspail prior to the installation of Platform screen doors.
Location	233, boul. Raspail 234, boul. Raspail 14th arrondissement of Paris Île-de-France France
Coordinates	48°50′21″N 2°19′50″E
Owned by	RATP
Operated by	RATP
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	24 April 1906 (1906-04-24) (Line 6) 30 October 1909 (1909-10-30) (Line 4)
Services
Preceding station   Paris Métro   Following station Denfert - Rochereau toward Mairie de Montrouge Vavin toward Porte de Clignancourt Edgar Quinet toward Charles de Gaulle–Étoile Denfert - Rochereau toward Nation
Location
Raspail Location within Paris

Location

The station is located under Boulevard Raspail at the intersection with Boulevard Edgar-Quinet.

Name

The station is named after the Boulevard Raspail, named after 19th-century scientist and statesman François-Vincent Raspail.

History

The station opened on 24 April 1906 with the opening of the extension of line 2 Sud from Passy to Place d'Italie. On 14 October 1907, line 2 Sud became part of line 5. On 12 October 1942, the section of line 5 between Étoile and Place d'Italie, including Raspail was transferred from line 5 to line 6 in order to separate the underground and elevated sections of the metro (because the latter were more vulnerable to air attack during World War II). The line 4 platforms were opened on 30 October 1909 when the southern section of line 4 was opened between Raspail and Porte d'Orléans; this was temporarily separated from the section of line 4 opened on 21 April 1908 between Châtelet and Porte de Clignancourt. On 9 January 1910, the connecting section opened under the Seine between Châtelet and Raspail, completing line 4.

The station was renovated a first time after 1969 by adopting the style Mouton-Duvernet two-tone orange, cutting radically with the dominant white of the original metro.[1] The station was renovated a second time in 2008 as part of the Renouveau du métro program and loses its Mouton style decoration and its orange tiles. The new furniture was blue on Line 6 and water green on Line 4. In 2017, new modifications were applied to the platforms of Line 4, as part of the future automation of the line.

In 2018, 1,995,962 travelers entered this station (connecting passengers between the two metro lines were not taken into account) which places it at the 259th position of the metro stations for its attendance.[2]

Passenger services

Access

The station has two entrances in front of nos. 234 and 241 of the Boulevard Raspail.

Station layout

Street Level

B1	Mezzanine for platform connection

Line 4 platform level	Side platform with PSDs, doors will open on the right
	Northbound	← toward Porte de Clignancourt (Vavin)
	Southbound	→ toward Mairie de Montrouge (Denfert-Rochereau) →
	Side platform with PSDs, doors will open on the right

Line 6 platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Westbound	← toward Charles de Gaulle – Étoile (Edgar Quinet)
	Eastbound	→ toward Nation (Denfert-Rochereau) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Platforms

The platforms of the two lines are parallel and located at the same level. The platforms in the direction of Mairie de Montrouge and Charles de Gaulle-Étoile are connected to each other by two passages, offering a direct connection. The platforms of the two lines are of standard configuration. They are separated by the metro tracks located in the center and the roofs of each line are elliptical. They are decorated in the style used for the majority of the metro stations. White ceramic bevelled tiles cover the walls, the tympans and the outlets of the corridors. The roofs are coated and painted white and the name of the station is in the Parisine font on enamelled plates. On the platforms of line 6, the lighting strip is white and rounded in the Gaudin style of the metro revival of the 2000s, the advertising frames are a white ceramic and the seats are in Akiko blue style. On Line 4, the metro is automated, there are no more banners, advertising frames, advertising or seats. After the successful experiment of the Line 14, the RATP started to look forward to automate existing lines. After completely automating line 1, the RATP started focusing on the Line 4. Because of that, Raspail was fitted with Platform screen doors and were installed in September and October 2018.

Bus connections

The station is served by Line 68 of the RATP Bus Network.

Nearby

Nearby are the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain (contemporary art museum), the École Spéciale d'Architecture (architecture school) and the Montparnasse Cemetery.

Gallery

• 
  Street-level entrance at Raspail
• 
  Line 6 platforms at Raspail

References

1. "Métro parisien : de la décoration au design - transportparis - Le webmagazine des transports parisiens". transportparis.canalblog.com (in French). 9 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
2. "Trafic annuel entrant par station du réseau ferré 2018". data.ratp.fr (in French). Retrieved 7 November 2019.