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Metro: Why These Two Lines Will Be Overcrowded in August?

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The Editor

© Jagoda Bartus / Le Bonbon

For the past few weeks now, a number of metro lines have been impacted by the famous summer construction work from Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM). Not to mention the RERs that are also getting knocked about one after another. Only, here's the thing, it's not without consequences for the other lines in the capital…

It's like the return of swallows in spring, or Thanos in the Avengers (for those who get the reference): inevitable. Every summer, Parisian public transport becomes the stage for unprecedented construction work. And that doesn't exactly make us happy, far from it. As you've noticed over the past few weeks, 2026 is no exception, and August is shaping up to be just as bad as last year. Disruptions that have direct knock-on effects on other lines, supposedly peaceful ones, now overrun by Parisians looking for alternatives.


The RER in chaos

Once again this summer, getting from point A to point B in the capital and its surroundings is clearly not a breeze. The culprit? Countless interruptions, which have already affectedhref="https://www.lebonbon.fr/paris/news/metro-lignes-plus-frequentees-fermee-mois-demain/">lines 4 and 12, but also lines 8 and 13 recently, as well as 4 of the 5 RER lines. And that's precisely what interests us here, particularly the closures of RER B, C and D in central Paris in the coming days.

Here's what's happening: no RER B between Gare-du-Nord and Bourg-la-Reine from July 25 to August 6, then extending to La Croix de Berny and Robinson until the 16th. On the RER C, a complete shutdown from Gare d'Austerlitz to the western terminals (Versailles-Château, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Pontoise) from July 15 to August 22. And we finish things off with line D, which will be shut down from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord from July 24 to August 16.


Backup solutions under siege

Faced with what can only be described as a catastrophe for Paris's RER lines, travelers have no other choice but to turn to the metro lines still in operation. And that's where the problem lies, since two of them are particularly

directly affected, due to somewhat similar routes: lines 4 and 5. Both serve a number of major stations affected by the work, on both the RER and metro, such as Gare du Nord, Châtelet and Saint-Michel (line 4), and Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, République, Bastille and Gare d'Austerlitz (line 5). To avoid overcrowding, you can fortunately turn to certain sections on lines 7 or 14, RER E, or even the bus, such as routes 38 and 91. Good luck to everyone!