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Subway: the turnstiles will soon be permanently removed from Paris stations

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The Editor

© Hugo Dominguez / Le Bonbon

Inaugurated in the 70s and famously immortalized on December 5, 1980, by Jacques Chirac himself, the iconic metro turnstiles, some of which have already been replaced by automatic doors, continue to slowly vanish. And in many stations, you'll have to say goodbye to them sooner than you think.

They may be an iconic symbol of the Paris Metro, but the anti-fraud turnstiles installed at the entrance of the stations can sometimes be a nightmare. Between those that get stuck, those that don’t turn, and those with blocked doors, getting to the other side and reaching your platform can be quite the challenge! And let's not even mention the automatic double doors with their rubber edges that can quickly turn into face-destroying weapons. Fortunately, this ordeal won’t last much longer, as brand new entrances are already starting to emerge, and it shouldn’t stop anytime soon.


An obstacle long overdue for retirement

It’s been over 45 years that they’ve been doing their best for us. But today, the verdict is clear: it’s high time they take their bow. The metal turnstiles and...

Automatic doors that we all know have exceeded their time and today show way too many flaws. Using them when your arms are full, while maneuvering a stroller or a suitcase is a real challenge. Even worse, far too many stations currently do not have a wide enough access for people with reduced mobility (PRM) to pass through. And what can we say when they malfunction at our expense and the RATP agents still find a way to ticket us for fraud? 


New Modern and Accessible Doors

A disastrous situation, widely recognized by Jean Castex, president of the RATP, for quite some time. In spring 2023, he even described these access points as a “nightmare” as the Olympics approached. While he has long announced his intention to replace them, he recently expressed his desire to speed up the transformation by replacing the turnstiles with much smoother glass doors, which will create "less congestion and an optimization of flow, while also providing more comfort," stated the RATP.

It's going to be a large-scale project since the management plans to replace 450 entrances in about fifty stations by 2029, which means a good thirty more than those already equipped. The first stations to benefit from this project set up by the RATP and Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) are the stations Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, Anvers (where work has already begun), Plaisance, Arcueil-Cachan, and Gare de Lyon (at the access points for line 1). 


A systematic implementation from now on

While the renewal of existing turnstiles may therefore take a little longer – the capital has more than 300 stations to modernize – it is important to note that all new stations of the Grand Paris Express are automatically equipped with the new entrances. In the .

Some Parisian stations have already had the chance to join the bright side. This includes Montparnasse, Trocadéro, and Porte de Saint-Cloud, where around fifty turnstiles were replaced before the Olympics. Lastly, here's an exciting update: following the removal of fare zones and the introduction of a single ticket, many turnstiles located in major stations between RER/Transilien and the metros will simply be removed, making connections easier for everyone.