The Future of the Metro by SYSTRA and Usbek & Rica Editorial Next Stop: the Present
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The future of the metro By SYSTRA and Usbek & Rica Editorial Next stop: the present The metro is going over its century and half of existence in 2020. Having contributed to delivering half of the automa- tic metros in the world, we saw in this anniversary an occa- sion to pause and take a step back. It is with this ambition in mind that we imagined this notebook: to retrace the evolution of the metro and envision the possibilities for the next decades. But to throw ourselves into prospective analysis in the midst of a pandemic, what an adventure! Independence of our will, the writing of this work has taken place straddled between two worlds: the one before-covid-19 and the one that we will name “the world after”. How to write something that will last in such an uncertain time? How to envision the future of public transportation when social distancing is becoming a new norm. But perhaps it’s this context that will give this document strength. This booklet—just like the metro—was thought out to adapt to all situations, to wit- hstand all types of future. To bend itself to reality, without ever breaking. And isn’t it when everything wavers that we clearly see the most stable elements? Everywhere, the crisis has shed light on the vital functions of our society: healing, feeding, edu- cating. But also uniting. 3 Editorial Summary By forcing half of the planet to be confined, the crisis re- Telling A brief minded us how mobile we are in our professional and per- numbers history of sonal lives. And by depriving us momentarily of their use, it p. 7 the metro proved the importance of public transportation in all of our p. 8 lives. For the metro belongs to the mundane, as French author Georges Perec once said, “what happens everyday and comes back the next day, the banal, the day to day, the obvious, the common, the ordinary, the infra-ordinary, the background noise, the usual”. Tomorrow, when the metro is back on track, perhaps we will be amazed by this robust and resistant machine, fluid An itinerary and without friction. Perhaps we will briefly realise how under the innovative it is, before reintegrating it back into our day to open sky day, until we forget its presence. But until then, and star- p. 10 ting now, the metro will have to learn to live in a world The metro: scarred by crises that are deeper and deeper and repeated. between We will have to get used to reacting and finding answers. crisis and Meeting It will finally affirm its place in an ecosystem and contribute to structuring our collaborations with one another. In this opportunity with way, it can continue to do what it knows best: being the p. 12 Philippe Rahm backbone of our day to day, rigid enough to structure our p. 16 lives, but supple enough to bend to all possible futures. Pierre Verzat, Chairman of the Board of SYSTRA A virtual metro Jérôme Ruskin, The metro at the service of reality Executive Director of Usbek & Rica in all its ordinary p. 18 beauty p. 20 Three killer questions The metro in 2035: p. 24 three scenarios for a The metro station of the future in SF p. 26 p. 28 4 5 Numérologie Clarification Telling numbers Familiar and daily, the metro actually conceals a lot of secrets. Let’s take a little tour of some numbers that show its discreet and enormous exploits. 14 000 km The total length of all of the metro 1863 lines in the world. The grand opening of The London Underground that became 90 the 1st metro in the world. out of 100 A real worldwide hit! The number of metro stations decorated with works of art. This project, led by 150 artists began 25 to 40 in 1950. km / h 40 The average speed at which a metro 3,64 transports its passengers. A speed years that is far superior to the car in our The average technical lifespan of a metro million global urban areas (13km/h in Paris, 16km/h in London). train, which is almost 4 times more The busiest metro station, that the average lifespan of a car in Europe Shinjuku (Tokyo), sees (11 years). 3,64 million passengers each day, which is the equivalent of the entire population of Uruguay. 180 1 metro cities 105 out of 2 Around 180 cities in the world have SYSTRA contributed their own metro networks. This metres to developing half of the represents more than 11000 metro The depth of the Arsenalna station in Kiev, automatic metros in stations. the deepest metro station in the world. circulation in the world. 7 Clarification Clarification Port Town line. Two years later, the city of Lille went even further with its Light Automatic 1906 Vehicles project that circulated without a conduc- A brief history tor on lines 1 and 2. Germany quickly followed Signalling suite in 1984 with two lines in Nuremberg, fol- In the United States, the Hall semaphore si- lowed by Canada and Vancouver. While it re- gnalling system was in general use from the mained sporadic in the 1990’s, the phenomenon TEXT end of the 19th century. It was adopted in spread across the planet in the 2000’s in cities like of the metro Eric Senabre France, but was quickly replaced by an auto- Budapest, Barcelona, São Paulo, Dubai… and led mated electric system in 1906. This remained to the automatization of existing lines (Paris’ line in use until the 1960s, when electronic and 1 in 2013). The metro is such so commonplace in everyday town life that we take emerging computer technology took over. it for granted. However, it already has a long history, sparkling with Now the metro relies on a signalling system as innovations that were revolutionary in their time. complex and efficient as the signalling used for mainline railways. 2003 Farewell to the ticket? 1900, electricity was preferred to some sur- In London, the Oyster Card was launched in prising alternatives (e.g. water cushion, in- 1952 - 1956 2003. Based on RFID technology, it has simpli- 1863 clined plane, compressed air). Three inde- fied ticket transactions for the operator and pendent firms agreed to supply the electricity, Articulations and tyres passenger alike. In Paris, the Carte Navigo Instant success until the dedicated power station was com- In order to satisfy high demand during peak existed already in experimental form but did Although its history started in the second half pleted on Quai de La Râpée. Independent of periods, Paris started to use articulated rolling not enter general service until 2005 and 2006. of the nineteenth century, the metro was de- the comfort that it brings to its passengers, stock (MA 1951) in 1952. Technically more ad- Today, certain smartphones can already serve signed to solve problems that are still relevant electricity makes the idea of an underground vanced than the old Sprague-Thomsons, these as super-tickets while more universal software today. When the London underground was network sustainable, while other cities have trains could couple together two or three and hardware solutions are being studied. opened on January 10 1863, its primary pur- bet on the surface. three-car units as needed, thereby adapting to pose was to relieve traffic congestion on the cater for passenger influxes. However, success surface. There were no motor vehicles at that was limited. RATP decided to focus its efforts 2010 - 2020 time of course. In a town with more inhabi- 1903 on tyre-borne trains (MP). Trains running on tants than the population of central Paris to- tyres can brake and accelerate more vigo- day, horse-drawn vehicles caused the same rously. As a result, the headway between two Passenger experience traffic jams. The pollution caused by horse Safety trains can be reduced. This was another way of and sustainable development manure was perceived as a real menace. In 1903, a train caught fire at Ménilmontant in satisfying increased demand while eliminating At the end of the nineties, the metro started to Success was immediate. 30,000 passengers Paris. The smoke asphyxiated 84 passengers the rail squeal that offended sensitive passen- focus on enhancing passenger comfort and travelled from Paddington to Farringdon on on the platform at Couronnes station. The two gers. the environment. Wi-Fi was gradually intro- the first day. villains of this catastrophe were the timber duced (starting in 2009 in Seoul), while 4G used to build the carriages, and the lack of spread to the metro (in Singapore, 4G and Wi- emergencies in stations. Wood was replaced Fi cover the entire network). In Asia, contact- by metal. This gave birth to the legendary 1980 - 2000 less payment is becoming widespread through 1890 Sprague-Thomson in 1908, which remained in mobile applications. In 2017, Line S1 of the service until 1983. Of course, stations were Beijing metro received magnetic levitation Electrification upgraded to protect the safety of all. Automatic train control trains. Meanwhile, other towns were greening Until 1890, the London underground ran on In 1981, Osaka introduced the concept of the au- their transport. In Lausanne and Toronto steam. Despite the speed with which this so- tomatic metro system to the world with its Nankô (Victoria Park station), station exteriors were lution was adopted (40 million travellers per adorned with canopies of vegetation. And in- year by 1880), we can imagine the discomfort side? In Paris, Gare de Lyon station on Line 14 of this form of locomotion in a confined space.