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Attention, there will be fewer seats in the new metros!

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The Editor

© Andy Soloman / Shutterstock

A few months ago, we shared the exciting news about the upcoming arrival of brand new metros. More efficient, more comfortable, faster trains – basically, a dream come true! But, there’s a catch: these state-of-the-art cars will have significantly fewer seats. It’s tough news for regular users of the 8 lines that will soon get this upgrade.

This is a situation simply incomprehensible for the Association of Public Transport Users of Île-de-France (FNAUT-IDF). Less than a year before the launch of the first MP19 trains on line 10, scheduled for the end of 2025, the representatives of passengers are highlighting a problem that has been kept under wraps until now: the drastic reduction in the number of seats compared to the trains currently in use. A downward evolution that sometimes removes over 50% of the seating.


New trains or high-end sardine cans?

Just a few months to wait, and you’ll be able to discover the new trains of the Paris metro. More connected and less polluting, they will first appear on lines 3, 3 bis, 7, 7 bis, 8, 10, 12, and 13. On the agenda for these new trains: U-plugs.

SB to recharge your phone, a modifiable ventilation, special spots for people with reduced mobility (PMR), comfortable seating, various waiting areas for short or long trips, in short, everything you need to make life easier for users of the RATP network.

So, what the transport authority has conveniently kept from us is that while these trains will look a bit magical, they will also be much less welcoming. The simple reason is that our chances of traveling standing up will drastically increase. For example, the line 8 will go from 246 sitting places (including fold-up seats) to only 122 in the new MP19s. Across all the lines affected by the arrival of the new trains by 2033, we are noticing an average decrease of between 3 and 26 seats available for travelers after sometimes exhausting workdays.


Two less-than-joyful configurations

These futuristic trains will be spread across 8 lines that currently rank among the least efficient in the network to try to give them a much-needed boost.

for far too long by Parisians. And to respond to all the requests (except the one to visibly sit down), IDFM has planned two scenarios, with trains in a "comfort" version and others in a "capacity" version. The only difference between the two? The capacity trains will have even fewer seats than their twins.

The capacity version, which will have 4 fixed seats and 4 folding seats less per train, is aimed at the most traveled lines. This will help improve traffic flow inside the trains, but, most importantly, it will allow for even more sardines to be stored during peak hours. It will be reserved for lines 8, 13, and likely 7, the last one to be equipped. The comfort version will serve lines 3, 3bis, 7bis, 10, and 12. The only conclusion if you take these lines is: enjoy the seats while you can!