Liège (Paris Métro)

Liège (French pronunciation: [ljɛʒ] (listen)) is a station on line 13 of the Paris Métro on the border of the 8th and 9th arrondissements.

Liège
Paris Métro station
Location8th arrondissement of Paris
Île-de-France
France
Coordinates48°52′47″N 2°19′37″E
Owned byRATP
Operated byRATP
Other information
Fare zone1
History
Opened26 February 1911 (1911-02-26)
Services
Preceding station   Paris Métro   Following station
Location
Liège
Location within Paris

History

It was built as part of the Nord-Sud Company's Line B from Saint-Lazare to Porte de Saint-Ouen and opened on 26 February 1911 as Berlin, named after the nearby Rue Berlin. As the Rue d'Amsterdam, which the line runs under at this point, is too narrow to accommodate platforms across from each other, the station was built with offset platforms. It was closed on 1 August 1914 at the beginning of World War I. It reopened on 1 December 1914, when it and the street it was named after had been renamed after the Belgian city of Liège, paying homage to the heroic Belgian resistance during the Battle of Liège who surely saved French and British armies. On 27 March 1931 the Nord-Sud Company was taken over by the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris and line B became line 13 of the Métro.

The station was closed at the beginning of World War II, when many stations were closed for economy reasons. Unlike all but eight of the closed stations, its reopening was significantly delayed, in this case until 1968. Even then its opening hours were limited, being closed on Sunday and closing at 8pm on the other days, with all trains running through without stopping. Although Rennes station, which also reopened in 1968 began to operate normal opening hours in 2004, the authorities refused to agree to Liège working normal hours. Changing lifestyles and increasing redevelopment of the area, with residences replacing offices, inspired a sustained political campaign. Eventually it was agreed to operate normal hours from 4 December 2006.

In 1982, Liège was refurbished with new ceramic decorations made in Welkenraedt, Belgium, which evoke the landscapes and monuments of the Province of Liège. It had further renovation work in December 2006.

Passenger services

Access

The station has only one entrance, a staircase on the median strip opposite no. 21, Rue de Liège.

Station layout
G Street Level Exit/Entrance
B1 Side platform, doors will open on the right
Northbound ← toward Asnières – Gennevilliers – Les Courtilles or Saint-Denis – Université (Place de Clichy)
Southbound → toward Châtillon – Montrouge (Saint-Lazare) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right

Platforms

Its geographical location explains one of its peculiarities. It has two platforms that do not face each other. The Rue d'Amsterdam, being too narrow to accommodate the traditional station on network,[1]:153–154 the trains stop at the first half-station encountered. The Commerce metro station, on line 8, is the only other station in the capital built as this model for the same reasons, the trains stopping there on in the second half-station encountered.[2]

The station was originally decorated, like all the non-connecting stations of the Société du Chemin de Fer Électrique Nord-Sud de Paris, simply known as the 'North-South', with its name advertised on vast mosaics and friezes of brown ceramic bearing the initials 'NS'.[3]:285 This decoration was supplemented with a new one based on the framework of cultural exchanges between France and Belgium in 1982. This is based on ceramics made from photos of Welkenraedt and installed in the advertising frames of the right wall facing the single platforms of each half-station.[3]:285 It evokes landscapes and monuments of the province of Liège. This modification also saw the installation of new tiles on the entrance tunnels of each platform, with the coat of arms of the city of Liège on one of the two entrances. The ceramics on the two platforms are the work of two scenographers from Liège, Marie-Claire Van Vuchelen for the southern direction and Daniel Hicter for the northern direction. The eighteen frescoes, nine in each direction, are painted in color in northern direction and blue duotone in the southern direction.[3]:285

Bus connections

The station is served by lines 21 and 95 of the RATP Bus Network.

  • Line 13 platform at Liège
  • The opposite platform can be seen through the tunnel

References
  1. Lamming, Clive (2016). Métro insolite (in French). Parigramme. ISBN 978-2840969808.
  2. La station Anatole France à Levallois-Perret, sur la ligne 3, possède des quais seulement partiellement décalés.
  3. Le patrimoine de la RATP (in French). France: Flohic. 1996. ISBN 978-2842340070.
  • Roland, Gérard (2003). Stations de métro. D’Abbesses à Wagram. Éditions Bonneton.
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