Who would have suspected that behind an ordinary access door on the platform of a metro station, a tunnel of about twenty meters could lead to a huge washing station?
Few people.
And yet, since 1979, the RATP has been washing its trains every day, out of sight via sidings where gigantic washing machines are positioned, equipped with long rollers and powerful jets.
Inaugurated in March 2022, the latest RATP washing machine was installed at Porte de Vincennes for all the trains on line 2. It joins the 9 other stations already in operation.
The very first of its kind, fully automated, appeared in 1979 on line 13. Before, all of the Paris metros were washed… by hand.
"Before 1979, washing the metros was even a punishment," says Bruno le Morvan, responsible for managing the metro and RER washing machines.
Because when an agent had made a mistake, the punishment was to wash the oars by hand.
»
Then gradually, the system became automated.
Cleaning a subway system, which once took hours, now takes no more than a minute and a half.
To carry out this outdoor toilet, the RATP uses two agents for each line.
At the controls of a line 2 train, Michel activates the button to start the giant washing machine.
This gesture, he does it at least 10 times a day, often at off-peak hours, “to avoid impacting passenger traffic”.
And for washing to be perfect, the metro must not exceed 3km/h.
At the end of the journey, a light signal even indicates by a green smiley that the driver has respected the speed.
Take a look behind the scenes of these metro washing machines in our report at the top of the article.