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Metro: the escalators at Paris's biggest station FINALLY working again

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The Editor

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They had been out of service since October 2025. After months of work and dozens of meters to trudge through on foot morning and evening for commuters, the escalators at the capital's biggest station are finally back in action… almost completely!

We all know it: Châtelet is far, very far from being the most pleasant station on the Paris metro network. Between its thousands of daily visitors, its maze-like exits and its endless connections, it's a nightmare for many, who prefer to take detours in their journeys rather than go through it. And unfortunately, these past few months, its reputation has only gotten worse due to major renovation work on the escalators connecting the different parts of the station. Thankfully, it seems this difficult period is (almost) behind us.


Months of headaches finally over

Last October, the three moving walkways connecting the lines 1, 7 and

11 at the Forum des Halles suddenly broke down, forcing rushed travelers to walk through the 160-meter corridor. And while repairs were initially supposed to be completed by the end of November, then December, the reopening was ultimately announced for the end of summer 2026.

And indeed, just a few weeks ago — July 23rd to be precise — the first of three escalators was brought back online, much to the delight of some 750,000 daily users of the station. And this Wednesday, September 2nd, a second escalator was put back into service, making it possible to have one in each direction — as opposed to alternating operation depending on peak hours.


Work not yet finished

However, if a first, or even a second victory has clearly been won, the battle isn't over yet, since the last of the three escalators is still out of service. Indeed, pallets still need to be installed in order to replace all the bent pieces that had required the

//www.lebonbon.fr/paris/news/metro-derniere-phase-travaux-ete/">shutting down the system. But don't worry, you probably won't have to wait too long, since a reopening in mid-September has already been announced. And when you know that the first one was relaunched more than a month ahead of schedule, you start to think that we're not safe from a miracle this time around either !