<story><title>Ghost Stations of the Paris Metro</title><url>https://www.urbextour.com/en/urbex-travel/7-ghost-stations-of-the-paris-metro-and-how-to-get-into-the-illegally-unusual-tunnels-rer/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>johncoltrane</author><text>Retired Parisian graffiti writer, here.&lt;p&gt;The parent article does a good job at explaining the whys and hows.&lt;p&gt;For the stations that where actually open at some point, it was mainly a matter of optimization: new hubs being built, profitability, etc. The end of WWII has been the turning point for most them.&lt;p&gt;Porte des Lilas was a prototype station repurposed for shooting movies in a controlled environment.&lt;p&gt;Haxo was part of a failed project to connect two lines. It was never officially opened so we, locals, don&amp;#x27;t really consider it as a station.&lt;p&gt;The buff between Place d&amp;#x27;Italie and Corvisart has never been a station. It&amp;#x27;s more of a curiosity than anything.&lt;p&gt;Not mentioned in the article are the former end-station of line 5 at Gare du Nord, now a training ground for metro drivers, Arsenal on line 5, Porte Maillot on line 1, and Molitor, which was never even connected to the surface.&lt;p&gt;I am not sure how popular the ghost stations of the métro, the prohibited sections of the catacombs, and the &amp;quot;petite ceinture&amp;quot; are with today&amp;#x27;s teens but they made Paris a gigantic interconnected playground back in the 80s&amp;#x2F;90s.</text></item><item><author>Zenst</author><text>I find it facinating that in a growing population that large places like Paris have stations that became disused.  But that seems to be the case upon many large underground networks that have been around long enough and in London the list is not short: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tfl.gov.uk&amp;#x2F;corporate&amp;#x2F;about-tfl&amp;#x2F;culture-and-heritage&amp;#x2F;londons-transport-a-history&amp;#x2F;london-underground&amp;#x2F;disused-underground-stations&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tfl.gov.uk&amp;#x2F;corporate&amp;#x2F;about-tfl&amp;#x2F;culture-and-heritage&amp;#x2F;...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though that does not include stations part built and then never completed of which there are a fair few for London, unsure about Paris but I would imagine be some instances of part built or intended stations that never got finished.
Indeed I had a look at seems at least two got built and never saw use - &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.renfe-sncf.com&amp;#x2F;rw-en&amp;#x2F;blog&amp;#x2F;destinations&amp;#x2F;paris&amp;#x2F;visit-underground-stations&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.renfe-sncf.com&amp;#x2F;rw-en&amp;#x2F;blog&amp;#x2F;destinations&amp;#x2F;paris&amp;#x2F;vis...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>kweks</author><text>I was always curious: the Sprague&amp;#x2F;s were left virgin for so many years. Was it because they hadn&amp;#x27;t been discovered by writers, or because they were considered untouchable for reasons of historical importance. Obviously the scene has all types, and both scenarios seem as unlikely as each other..  can you elaborate ?&lt;p&gt;Edit: &amp;quot;Sprague&amp;quot; or Sprague Thompson is rolling stock dating back to 1908. There are one or two hidden very well in the system, with one still in mint, serviceable condition.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ghost Stations of the Paris Metro</title><url>https://www.urbextour.com/en/urbex-travel/7-ghost-stations-of-the-paris-metro-and-how-to-get-into-the-illegally-unusual-tunnels-rer/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>johncoltrane</author><text>Retired Parisian graffiti writer, here.&lt;p&gt;The parent article does a good job at explaining the whys and hows.&lt;p&gt;For the stations that where actually open at some point, it was mainly a matter of optimization: new hubs being built, profitability, etc. The end of WWII has been the turning point for most them.&lt;p&gt;Porte des Lilas was a prototype station repurposed for shooting movies in a controlled environment.&lt;p&gt;Haxo was part of a failed project to connect two lines. It was never officially opened so we, locals, don&amp;#x27;t really consider it as a station.&lt;p&gt;The buff between Place d&amp;#x27;Italie and Corvisart has never been a station. It&amp;#x27;s more of a curiosity than anything.&lt;p&gt;Not mentioned in the article are the former end-station of line 5 at Gare du Nord, now a training ground for metro drivers, Arsenal on line 5, Porte Maillot on line 1, and Molitor, which was never even connected to the surface.&lt;p&gt;I am not sure how popular the ghost stations of the métro, the prohibited sections of the catacombs, and the &amp;quot;petite ceinture&amp;quot; are with today&amp;#x27;s teens but they made Paris a gigantic interconnected playground back in the 80s&amp;#x2F;90s.</text></item><item><author>Zenst</author><text>I find it facinating that in a growing population that large places like Paris have stations that became disused.  But that seems to be the case upon many large underground networks that have been around long enough and in London the list is not short: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tfl.gov.uk&amp;#x2F;corporate&amp;#x2F;about-tfl&amp;#x2F;culture-and-heritage&amp;#x2F;londons-transport-a-history&amp;#x2F;london-underground&amp;#x2F;disused-underground-stations&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;tfl.gov.uk&amp;#x2F;corporate&amp;#x2F;about-tfl&amp;#x2F;culture-and-heritage&amp;#x2F;...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though that does not include stations part built and then never completed of which there are a fair few for London, unsure about Paris but I would imagine be some instances of part built or intended stations that never got finished.
Indeed I had a look at seems at least two got built and never saw use - &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.renfe-sncf.com&amp;#x2F;rw-en&amp;#x2F;blog&amp;#x2F;destinations&amp;#x2F;paris&amp;#x2F;visit-underground-stations&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.renfe-sncf.com&amp;#x2F;rw-en&amp;#x2F;blog&amp;#x2F;destinations&amp;#x2F;paris&amp;#x2F;vis...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Zenst</author><text>Yes for London the WW2 period sure did change the landscape in many ways and I recall being supprised that it wasn&amp;#x27;t until 2015 that London&amp;#x27;s population had finally caught up with level it had in 1939.  That alone really did highlight how some things can be impacting far wider than we appreciate.</text></comment>