1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, with running pads for the rubber-tyred wheels outside of the steel rails
The MP 59 (French: Métro Pneu appel d'offres de 1959; English: Rubber-tyred metro ordered in 1959) was a rubber-tyred variant of electric multiple units used on the Paris Métro system in service from 1963 to 2024. Manufactured by a consortium between CIMT-Lorraine (body), Jeumont-Schneider (control circuits), Alsthom and CEM (motors), they were first introduced in 1963 when the busiest routes of Lines 1 and 4 were converted to rubber-tyred pneumatic operation. The trains worked on Line 1 between 1963 and 2000, Line 4 between 1966 and 2012, and Line 11 between 1995 and 2024. By the time of their retirement in June 2024, the MP 59 trains (along with the Sprague-Thomson) were among the oldest trains still in use on any metro system in the world, at 61 years old.
Blue second-class and cream-coloured first class MP 59 cars in 1964
MP 59 trainset 6005 in "Métro-Vidéo" livery in 1989
An MP 59 leaving République on June 12, 2024, the last day of MP 59 service.
Exit from Line 4
With the arrival of the MP 05 automated stock on Line 1, the remaining 48 MP 59 trains on Line 4 were replaced by the MP 89 CC (just like their Line 1 counterparts were). The first MP 89CC train (#01) arrived on Line 4 in April 2011 and went into service on May 23, 2011. The first MP 59 train to be retired from service was #049, which was withdrawn in April 2011. #021 was withdrawn on December 21, 2012, and was the last train to be retired.
It was originally speculated that some trains would be moved to Line 11 as a supplement, but such plans never came to fruition. All of the trains in service on Line 4 have been scrapped, the spare parts were salvaged for the remaining trains on Line 11.[1]
Exit from Line 11
Île-de-France Mobilités will replace the last MP 59 trains on Line 11 with 39 MP 14 trains: the replacement MP 14 trains for Line 11 will be driver-operated and five cars long.[2][3] The last MP 59 trains were scheduled to run on 23 May 2024,[4] but a few trains are still in service as of June 2024.[5][6] Last trains ran on Line 11 on June 12, 2024, before the line extension to Rosny–Bois-Perrier when six new stations opened on June 13, 2024.[7]
Technical specifications
Train length: 90.390 m (296 ft 6+5⁄8 in)
Overall width: 2.400 m (7 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Height of a train car above the running surface: 3.485 m (11 ft 5+1⁄4 in)
Floor height above the running surface: 1.180 m (46.46 in)
Weight in running order: 126.4 tonnes (124.4 long tons; 139.3 short tons)
Maximum capacity (at four travelers / m2): 700 passengers including 144 seats
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