The Weird Pod Metro That Lies Forgotten Under A Paris Suburb

In 1993, the eastern Paris suburb of Noisy-le-Grand (yes, really) built an unusual and revolutionary new mini metro. One problem though: the business district it was supposed to serve never got constructed, and the line was never used. In the 30 years since it was supposed to open, hardly anyone has ever been allowed to see it. Until now...
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IMAGE CREDITS
Christian Pellerin photo used under license from Alamy - www.alamy.com/stock-photo/chr...
La Défense by ZarlokX - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Coulommiers bus by COUVRAT Sylvain - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Versailles bus by PR180.2 - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Cergy-Pontoise bus by Florian Fèvre - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Marne-la-Vallée bus by Occitandu34 - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

[@JoeyFoo]

An SK6000 system still exists and is still operating in Shanghai on the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. I believe that's the only system still operational today.

[@TheTimTraveller]

Yes correct! I think the SK2000 at the Paris Parc d'Expositions lasted until relatively recently, but Shanghai is now the only one remaining

[@kzonedd7718]

@@TheTimTraveller Since someone let the cat out of the bag; when will you do a video there? :)

[@toposebi95]

There was also going to be one at CDG, sadly it was plagued by technical issues, never opened and was eventually replaced by the CDGVAL.

[@egpx]

@@TheTimTraveller I've been on the Shanghai one! It is really, and I mean really, terrible. Only now do I know it is something unique. It's still terrible though.

[@alex_ob1]

@@egpx why terrible?

[@SievertSchreiber]

One thing I like about these videos is that our beloved presenter physically goes to every location he talks about. Thanks Tim!

[@mfaizsyahmi]

It's in the channel name. Without the travelling he'll be just The Tim.

[@myonlydemandisbacktowork8759]

@@mfaizsyahmi Tim Idler 😅

[@georgegithi2509]

IKR😃😃..

[@Kenionatus]

The "Tom Scott formula", except less red and with less dramatised, more cosy narration.

[@darksunrise957]

@@Kenionatus Tim Scott

[@tagath]

I nearly screamed, the last thing I expected was a video on my city! I was aware of this plan to renovate and use an abandoned underground space (it was in the local newspaper) but I hadn't understood that the space in question would hve been a metro station, had things been different. Thanks for making me discover that little bit of local history! :D

[@robfenwitch7403]

Screaming is good for you but do try not to startle the Tim.

[@garrysekelli6776]

It will become a bunker in ww3 and all the graffiti artists will be the chief generals.

[@benbschr]

It's not like he hasn't done Paris videos before😂

[@Kj_Gamer2614]

He’s done so many Paris videos though…

[@tagath]

@@benbschr and Noisy isn't in Paris ;) it's a good 30 minutes away from Paris by train and in a different department

[@LarkspeedNL]

I found this video very interesting and I actually rode on the "SK People Mover" many times at Expo86 in Vancouver. The pods were very different though, they were kind of like riding around in a bus shelter.

[@BackTheNerd]

The University of West Virginia also has people movers, iirc it was the subject of a Tom Scott video.

[@threeparots1]

I have been on the one at Expo 86. Seemed a little silly and yes very much a rolling bus shelter. Especially compared to the Skytrain system which was already operating and vastly more advanced. The Japanese HSST was also in operation. Wasn’t sure what the point was for it at the time. Judging by the amount of similar systems nobody else thought there was a point either.

[@trevormoses5061]

😆

[@gazpachopolice7211]

Even if I had a million guesses I would probably never expect a vehicle being described as a bus shelter.😂

[@TheWinjin]

"SK people mover: simplyfing travel to the point where you wait for the bus... But you're already on it!"

[@stevenedwards3754]

A similar gadgetbahn was built in San Francisco in 1873 and is still running. The 'pods' are somewhat larger and are cleverly designed so that they can stop and start even though the cable beneath them continues to move. The pods also run on streets, climb hills, turn corners, and can even be boarded while moving. They are also Noisy, though unless your bedroom is nearby as mine once was, you might not notice.

[@RhodianColossus]

Ah yes the cable trams (oops, sorry yanks, I mean "cars"), lovely pieces of brilliantly simple engineering!

[@gazpachopolice7211]

Gadgetbahn! I've heard that somewhere before but can't recall.

[@mfaizsyahmi]

@@gazpachopolice7211 You might have ridden on an RM Transit.

[@andrefourtier100]

😂

[@TwoWholeWorms]

@@mfaizsyahmi Phrasing :p

[@djhakase]

In every pod I see a booth for a restaurant. Bar one end, kitchen the other. Finally a reasonable use for touchpad menus!

[@pacificostudios]

I rode the demonstration system in Vancouver. I was impressed by its simplicity, except that station areas needed carefully-designed shelter from precipitation over and around the conveyer belts. The Soule system used two conveyer belts to accelerate the cars up to the speed where the car could grab onto the continually moving cable. The cars were flimsy, but they didn't need to protect passengers from anything. The track was very light, akin to steel scaffolding, and the hollowness of the track was obvious when you rode it. I think the biggest flaw was that the cars never stopped moving, so you had to board while it moved slowly by. Wheelchair users would have had a hard time using it.

[@Ragnar8504]

So, basically a glorified ski lift.

[@pacificostudios]

@@Ragnar8504 No, because it was much faster than a ski lift or the gondolas. It used conveyers for both acceleration and deceleration. But you can see the problem with it never stopping. If it a vehicle stopped, it couldn't start moving again. I think it needed another conveyer to control stopping and starting, and more advanced vehicle control to prevent rear-end accidents.

[@peabody3000]

@@pacificostudios many ski lifts are quite fast. how fast was the SK you rode?

[@pacificostudios]

@@peabody3000 - I think around 15 mph. You had to board a moving car, and then go over two constant speed conveyers, so you can see how each jump in speed could not be very large to keep the system reasonably comfortable. The system that automatically grabbed the cable after the second conveyer was a clever design, too.

[@Videoswithsoarin]

guess they have to take the bus

[@AidanEyewitness]

It’s a amazing how many of these little known failed projects there are. I loved your video about the Lartigue Railway in Ireland. My dad remembered riding on it as a child (and helping to push it with the other passengers!) Your channel is very inspiring and the subtle humour is great!

[@theothertonydutch]

It's a thing: "Grands Travaux Inutiles" Great useless works. Hubris.

[@AidanEyewitness]

@@theothertonydutch Sounds like a ministry of the French government!

[@prz98]

I was about to write how sad it is that it stays there wasted and unused, but then the part about transforming it played and I’m happy. Even if it becomes simple attraction with underground cafe or restaurant or anything, I’m happy it will be accessible and available for everyone to see.

[@error52]

This metro system reminds me of a Paternoster lift - small cabins in a chain, moving together. Whereas in the lift the cabins travel vertically, here they travel horizontally.

[@PopeLando]

Exactly what I thought.

[@roseharvey2664]

@@PopeLando moi aussi

[@Alex-cw3rz]

7:35 I see what you did there End of Line by The Traveling Wilbury's in the background, always reminds me of the last episode of One Foot In the Grave.

[@MrPecksniff]

Lovely to hear ‘The Money Programme’ theme tune after all these years. Thanks Tim 😊

[@WTDoorley]

Thank. you, Tim. This reminds me of a similar project in Washington, DC. The city's first subway was a streetcar (aka "tram") tunnel underneath Dupont Circle. The tunnel, complete with stations, opened in 1949 and closed only 13 years later when the entire streetcar network was shut down for lack of riders. It is now "Dupont Underground," a sort of art gallery/performance space where creative people can do creative things. Interesting how city planners tend to think along the same lines.

[@ZGryphon]

New York had a short-lived (pneumatic) subway in the 1870s, too. It had only one station and was built as a proof-of-concept for a larger system that was never realized. There's a reference to it in, of all things, _Ghostbusters II,_ although the one in the movie is fictional and in the wrong part of town.

[@PrograError]

same (not really) in putrajaya, malaysia (the administrative capital of malaysia, "beside" the actual capital of malaysia, Kuala Lumpur) tho it's only some of the planning infrastructure they had thought they needed was built, including the receiving monorail tracks to the railway station on the outskirt of the district boundary, the tunnel to basically nowhere sans the tracks, and the mini suspension bridge to nowhere. heard the plan is basically canned to the trash... like the HSR SG-KL

[@solracer66]

The first one open to the public, the US Capitol subway dates to 1909: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol_subway_system

[@timothycook4782]

Its funny because you can see evidence of the DC streetcar system all over Georgetown, from the decaying wooden trestle to the east of Georgetown, to the rails still in the cobblestone streets in Georgetown to the literal Georgetown "Car Barn" meant to hold the tram cars. A lot of people know about one or all of the different relics of the system but don't put the whole thing together to realize what it is.

[@agate_jcg]

Nothing's as dated as the past's vision of the future.

[@AHD2105]

So funny. Have you watched a 1950s vision of the future. It's interesting how they thought that was cool, but the reality is way better, oh and worse. So maybe prediction should follow that.

[@manicpepsicola3431]

​@@AHD2105 I rememer being a kid in the early 2000s and watching an episode of the pink panther on boomarang and it was set in 2001 and they flew their spaceship to the moon and got gas and i pointed it out to my fsmily because I thought it was so funny.

[@Amfortas]

They'll be making videos about 15 minute cities in the future

[@GarryAndrews_]

Books like 1984 and A Brave New World are pretty solid

[@Banks4004]

What about ur mom

[@QuantumHistorian]

"It looks like what the 1980s thought the future would look like" describes La Defense very well too actually. And, for that matter, Canary Wharf/Canada Waters.

[@leeriches8841]

True, though Canary Wharf is looking a hell of a lot better these days.

[@fumomofumosarum5893]

La Defense actually looks futuristic (or rather contemporary) tho...

[@ThreeRunHomer]

Love the sign that says “Noisy Résidence” 😆

[@AnyoneCanSee]

Thank you. I do enjoy your videos. Life's a real struggle right now and your upbeat style really does brighten things up.

[@lavo-ld4wm]

Thank you for the vid! I used to work at Champs-sur-Marne, 4.6 Km (2.9 mi) from Noisy-le-Grand. On several occasions, while commuting from different bus lines), I indeed saw the fairy-looking door, the 1980s futuristic architecture and the empty field.

[@MrGreatplum]

I suppose that this place translates as “the big noise” 😜 which seems that’s all it was. A clever system - a horizontal gondola system by all accounts - would have loved to have seen it running!

[@azahel542]

It's named after walnut trees and the name comes from over a thousand years ago, when the place wasn't just noise.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

@@azahel542 So its name means Nuts

[@MurderMostFowl]

Tim, I love your videos for the content and also the sneaky use of certain… “city” music. I won’t say anything more but it’s the best anecdotal use I’ve ever heard and made me smile the second I heard it.

[@TheveninFr]

I used this station daily for many years when I was a student living in Villiers-sur-Marne. In addition to being a busy commuter hub with its own bus station it sits directly under a shopping centre which serves the whole area between Paris and Val d'Europe, so it is most definitely not a "you'd only stop there by accident" kind of station!

[@MPSpecial]

a similar system was built for CDG airport, but the demands of the airport managing company were absurd regarding the limitations of the system (particularly when it came to speed), so it was never opened to the public. it can be seen running in one of Étienne Daho's music clips though, and part of the infrastructure was reused for the CDGVAL that's kinda why the SK eventually flopped, having failed hard twice in the same city

[@radagastwiz]

Between this and Jago Hazzard's video, today saw two looks at small underground urban railways, only used by passengers in special circumstances, in major European cities! It's almost like they planned it.

[@SievertSchreiber]

Somehow the Jago videos don’t catch my attention. Perhaps and because of Jago focussing too much on Britain!?

[@danielcallender8649]

Well he does live in London and that's his intrest.

[@shodan2958]

Looks incredible, and I'm somewhat jealous because a place like that is totally the sort of thing I would love to have a nosey look around to see the state its in.

[@-Benedict]

How wonderful. If only it had worked. Side question: Have you ever considered doing a video on the Parry People Movers, also known as Class 139 trains, operating on a short branch line in Stourbridge? It's a wonderful bit of engineering.

[@thebrowns5337]

That would be great. Such rich history in that area.

[@eekee6034]

Indeed. The staff seem to be happy to show them off to KZbinrs. :) I was thinking of going to see those when COVID hit, so I'm always happy to see them featured.

[@atraindriver]

PPMs are a perfect example of an answer searching for a question. It only ended up on the Town Car because the designer/builder/proponent was a local man with some political clout and at the time the class 153 railcar which used to run the line was desperately needed on the main line. That the PPM has no real role is demonstrated by the fact that despite its supposed success on the Town Car, no more have ever been built and no versions of the PPM have ever found long term use anywhere else.

[@NeoDerGrose]

There's a very similar system in Perugia in Italy, but it's a lot younger and operational. It's literally called Mini Metro and its been built by Italian cable car manufacturer Leitner, who clearly nows how to build stuff like that. But still, it wasn't a smash hit either and I think it's the only system that's ever been built for public use.

[@MrAlexanderKind]

I was in Perugia several times and I find the mini metro actually cool and also useful to reach the city centre from Fontivegge Railway Station or Umbria Jazz Square's bus terminal, very useful as a parking lot for tourists that can leave their car there

[@eliezra83771]

Omg really? I went to perugia a couple times (great clubbing city, apparently an attraction for stranger turtists) but never heard of it! I wish I was in a field I could study there, b/c the university was huge and modernly gorgeous!

[@pedrogabory]

Oh my god. I’ve been living there and taking this rer station for years! Never got the guts to go behind these steel doors tho. I guess in the end they got the shopping center, the arcades are pretty nice. And there’s some business there like IBM and other stuff. Thank you very much for this video.

[@Meldonator]

I knew about the SK because of my work. It's a pity this site has been "discovered" by some "Urban Explorators" who documented their trips and paved the way for the less respectful "visitors". The whole system was totally preserved until then because we thought we could open it one day if the need appears.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

That's a brilliant way to mince words about it.

[@kiwiwifi]

secret no more

[@woltews]

I think if its been 15 years and you have done nothing with it one can safely say its fair game

[@flp322]

@Offset Nomad as opposed to random KZbin commenters, who surely know what's best for society!

[@peabody3000]

it was such a short distance line, it doesn't seem like it could be useful for anything other than limited demonstration purposes

[@LCaddyStudios]

This reminds me of the Monorail we had here on the Gold Coast that was recently removed so the casino could build a new hotel tower, then the cars appeared in Facebook marketplace for a few months before disappearing only to reappear lately as an Airbnb on the other side of the country.

[@DaveTexas]

I thought the name Noisy-le-Grand sounded familiar. We spent a week at Disneyland Paris a few years ago (thank you, Disney Vacation Club, for essentially free hotel rooms!) and took the RER into central Paris most days. All those station names along the line got burned into my brain. I regret that we didn’t have time to get out at any of those stations to explore, but a week in Paris isn’t nearly enough to cover even the basics, let alone surrounding communities.

[@leenaleewitch3731]

Don't worry, you didn't miss out...this city is dangerous 😖😔

[@ixlnxs]

Some suburbs of Paris are actually quite interesting to tourists, but perhaps not along that route. Southwestern suburbs come to mind like Versailles for the general history lover, Meudon and Saint Cloud for the hardcore monarchists, Sèvres for porcelain and Boulogne-Billancourt for art déco.

[@loxodoncyclotis1823]

Noisy le Grand actually became a tourist attraction in its own right after it was used as a filming location for the Hunger Games movies, the weirdly grandiose and futuristic architecture was a good fit for that dystopian setting. I'm surprised Tim didn't mention it tbh.

[@Self1313]

Noisy le Grand was also where a lot of the Terry Gilliam film Brazil was shot. In the summer of 1990 I cycled out to see one of the amazing 'Brazil' buildings there - a huge triumphal arch that contained a large number of flats. Sadly, it was demolished some years ago (I say sadly - perhaps it was horrible to live in).

[@backintimealwyn5736]

it's the city of "the abraxas" building , very cool if you're into sci fy and architecture. The place is a test grounf for failed attempt at being scy fy modern , but it still cool in it's own way, with it's dystopian fascist hellhole spirit. And it's kind of dangerous (although not that much)

[@user-nd1ek1rg4y]

Great video once again Tim! Interesting subject, great shots, funny narration and on point music selection. Awesome!

[@gasser5001]

THIS is the beauty of youtube and the internet. Sharing something that 99.999999% of us would never have a chance to see.

[@flo_i]

Great discovery, always amazed at the stuff you dig up!

[@jammin023]

Metropolitan Line: "If you build it, they will come." Noisy-le-Grand: "Hold my spraycan."

[@DoctorEth]

Top Tim Traveler content, just what I needed today!! 🙌🏻

[@bobsrailrelics]

One of those videos which makes people say, wait! What? Unbelievable story, Paris never seems to stop coming up with amazing stuff. No wonder you moved there. Thanks for making this.

[@djmeowth]

Thanks for the video, Tim! I've never failed to be fascinated by any of your videos. And I loved how you used bits of music from SimCity 3000 and the X-Files. Got very slightly misty-eyed for a couple seconds remembering those bits of 90s nostalgia. Cheers!!!

[@gadaboutwalks]

Marvellous stuff. SK4000 does sound like something Clive Sinclair would have dreamt up and the references to a Mini Metro conjured up images of Michael Edwardes and Buy British campaigns. Kudos on getting 'The Money Programme' theme into the soundtrack.

[@Craftlngo]

_Handle with Care_ in a subtle the Tim Traveller Version. Nice!

[@adrianrutterford762]

Wonderful Video, as ever. Thank you, Tim.

[@paintrayn89]

Loved your cover of End of the Line by the Traveling Wilburys. It took me a second listen to recognize it though.

[@Jesusfreakens]

Nice "end of the line" pun towards Geoff Marshalls latest series! ;) Nice video!

[@teecefamilykent]

Probably the most informative and useful video you have ever done. Congratulations sir, when I am in Paris next I shall offer you a beer or three.

[@evan9072]

Only been to Paris a few times, but went out to Noisy-le-Grand to visit the Espaces d'Abraxas and went out that same exit. Kind of mindblowing to know I passed so close to this completely unknowingly!

[@tomdchi12]

Ah, another entry in the down, up, down, down, down tales of "Personal Rapid Transit (PRT)" in various forms. I got to work on planning for a local implementation of a PRT system (Taxi2000/Raytheon) around this time (early 90s) which was... never built. (Though there was a single loop test track built at a Raytheon facility in Massachusetts IIRC.) This SK system avoids all sorts of complications by having only the 2 stops and basically being a ski lift with pods on top, rather than dangling, as you correctly observed, which is why it actually got built and ran (if not in a revenue generating capacity) unlike more ambitious and complex systems.

[@zorktxandnand3774]

When they open this they should make it in to a restaurant, where you get your own pod, and your food is served at one end of the line and the drinks at the other.

[@hi_am_disturbia]

I always went to Noisy-le-Grand for my studies. Never have I know that such project existed, and it's great that you found out about it! That was very interesting to know they planned to do an entire project for the city itself. As a lover for trains and metros, Thank you! Great video

[@jasongarufi8187]

Another great video thanks Tim Traveller

[@curiosirail]

A similar system has been built for Roissy Airport to link the different air stations. This system was made of 2 lines. It has been tested with only airport staff as authorized passengers in the late 1990 years. Unfortunately, the reliability was not at the targeted level and Aéroport De Paris (ADP) decided to dismantle all the network and replaced it by the VAL system which is today in service. There was also a smaller SK line at Villepinte exposition center and has been dismantled in 2008.

[@JohnADoe-pg1qk]

It's the day of the small systems: Jago with "Mail Rail" and Tim with the "Mini Metro". 😀

[@AndrewTBP]

Tim already did Mail Rail.

[@redsaxmax]

Tim, I love it that you find these curiosities

[@kubotwostringz7040]

I like the fact that you can hear Traveling Wilburys in the background 🙂 made me smile.. that's a nice touch.

[@McRocket]

I knew NOTHING of this. Very interesting...and a little sad. Thank you for this. ☮

[@candvand]

I rode the one in Vancouver at Expo 86 at the French pavilion. It was touted as the next big thing in public transportation. Probably the first time myself or anyone had heard the “last mile” concept. I had no idea that one had ever been built. Honestly this application seems like a better one than they had been promoting, because I didn’t see folks going for having tracks running all over the place instead of or on top of sidewalks. It did seem like an answer that was looking for a question. I also remember thinking that the little pods would probably just end up smelling like urine after a while.

[@atraindriver]

In Britain we came up with the Parry People Mover, also an answer looking for a question, which despite much publicity and some people being massively over-enthusiastic about it as an answer to every possible transport problem, has only actually found long-term use on the Stourbridge Town line, a ~1km, 3 minute journey where it was used to replace (and release) a full-size railcar for main-line use. The PPM is, to paraphrase another commenter on this page, a large bus shelter with a flywheel.

[@PlanesTrainsEverything]

I never get tired of watching your videos. Great work.

[@williamheaton7958]

Just wanted to say I always enjoy your videos. Thanks! Peace.

[@lavillenouvelle]

I've made my studies in Noisy Le Grand, and I'm glad to see it again (the name of my channel comes from that). At that time (2002-2003) the train station in Noisy Le Grand didn't have any direct exit to the outside: either you have to exit through an underground bus terminal, or you had to pass through the shopping center. Is it still the case?

[@fakeneim]

Interesting, def. not the same

[@freewal]

No, they created another exit arround the artificial lake.

[@IronBelH]

As always, thoroughly enjoyable. There seems to exist an affinity for dreams of reforming public transport. Pod-based is the idea that many dreamers land on, and a non-zero number end up investing in. I reckon the reasons are that nobody likes waiting for a time table’s blessing, nor do we like sniffing other passengers’ armpits in an overcrowded metro or bus. The pod concept addresses both grievances. It looks as good as it is bad at mass transport. And it’s strange that the latter aspect keeps getting overlooked in business plans aimed at mass transport. It’s also surprising that it doesn’t work better. In the ski slopes, there are many pods on wires, but hardly any trains. Why does it work there? I do realise this video’s pods had other problems an I apologise for the tangent.

[@illdeletethismusic]

the slopes are too steep for using trains in skiing areas. rarely trains with gear wheels are used, but those tracks are expensive, the vehicles are less practical, and without double tracks the whole way capacity is lower, similar to the oversized gondola ski lifts that have just one gondola moving each way at a time, with dead end stops at each end. many small gondolas are better for spreading out loads, travelling in a continuous loop have high overall capacity, can take pretty much any incline, and only need expensive static elements at a few, separate points rather than rails going the full length of the lift, with thermal expansion becoming a factor.

[@Joesolo13]

It's not that shocking honestly. The "problems" of crowded mass transit are just proof of it's success. People might not *like* being in with a lot of other folks, but they all choose it over driving or walking. Trying to prevent that is weirdly paternalistic, like, "nono, all you folks are wrong for using this, we actually must do this worse". Often the wealthy and influential who would use it least. Don't mean to sound too rude about this, but it's a bit of a wonk for me how some act like people freely choosing things like this are wrong for making the choice, and desire to build less-efficient systems as a result

[@mrviking2mcall212]

All these rubbish gadgetbahns are the results of snooty people who can’t let go of the privacy of a car or taxi cab. They pale at the thought of riding with peasants, so it’s over-complicated slow pods whizzing around and providing only a fraction of the mass transit offered by trains and trams.

[@rico5818]

Oh my god, hearing the SIM Broadway music in the background was amazing and brought me right back to being a little kid. Simply superb video on a really cool topic!

[@jimbuckley2862]

Gosh even when I am feeling pretty rubbish, watching a few Tim Traveller videos always seems to cheer me up. 👍🏼 Many thanks for the totally unintentional pick me up Tim. Hoping for some more videos soon. Jim.

[@tuneskramer69]

This reminds of when i was in Le Mont-Saint-Michel in 2003, it was raining that day an we went into some sort of museum. Where they showed us a promo video of the same kind of pod transport to the Le Mont-Saint-Michel. That supposedly opens in the summer of 2003. And we all where like, we didn't see any of that... And my in law parents visited this summer it still isn't there

[@LWR1]

Excellent video! I am going to Paris in a few weeks and am very excited to not see the Eiffel Tower, but to maybe see the largest hill in the region or visit an abandoned pod underground cable car-y system (definately to see the Paris Metro though). Carry on with the good content in Paris!

[@johnhopkins6658]

Author Guy de Maupassant ate lunch every day at the base of The Eiffel Tower, because that was the only place in Paris from which he could not see it …

[@piccalillipit9211]

Ive been to Paris and not seen the Eiffel Tower.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

If you're excited to not see the Eiffel Tower, I think you'll be disappointed, as it'll be pretty hard to do.

[@killkiss_son]

I go to high school in Noisy Le Grand but never heard of this station before! Gonna check out once the project is finished!

[@user-vc1cm3rh7e]

You are my hero for showing such great content.

[@AndrewG1989]

I hope it does get used again in few years as a tourist attraction. Such a shame that it was never used after it was completed.

[@johnfry1011]

What a hidden gem! And another excellent video!

[@sarab9670]

Was thinking of this channel yesterday and now a new video pops up yay !

[@thisgameissoesey]

Man, that Sim City music in the background (which I'm guessing you're playing yourself on your piano?) is PITCH PERFECT for your awesome video! Thanks! :D

[@profkluk]

I really like your subtle humor. Another great video.

[@hx0d]

Reminds me of the Heathrow pods in London that run between the car parks and terminal 5. Perhaps they took inspiration from these

[@TalenGryphon]

Love the little musical nod to Simcity when introducing Pellerin

[@OiDivision]

Sim Broadway at 4:07 slapped a massive smile across my face.

[@tom-sn4gd]

No wayyyyy. I live like 30 minutes from here, and I remember as a child looking on the internet on some random blog about a guy who did urbex there near 2005/2006. I didn't know that the SK was open during the "Journées du patrimoines" ! I am a bit frustrated now because it was the only time I could ever see it legally in 25 years 😅. But good to see you make a video about it !

[@nickshipway8199]

The Parc des Expositions de Villepinte used to have one of these systems in the car parks. I rode on it once in the 90's. No idea if it's still there or not.

[@underagedrinking69]

thanks for taking us along. your videos arent catchy or flashy. wholesome and thus could stand the test of time.

[@palarious]

I'm so happy to hear this is going to be used again!

[@kayzeaza]

Honestly if they fixed up the mechanical stuff but kept all the graffiti I could see this becoming a decently profitable tourist attraction. Maybe have some stuff down in the tunnel for people to look at while they’re moving along.

[@fanfan54old]

Unfortunately, I think it's too hard to repair, many things seem to be broken and now unsafe, the technology is old, maybe it's not possible to bring back to life the same system. Reuse the tunnel and stations for a brand new system, maybe... but complicated. And expensive. Noisy le Grand already partially destroyed the 2nd station (in the "business district")... to build a building on top of it 🤔 🤔 🤔 (they needed to build things underground too, unfortunately)

[@commodoresixfour7478]

@@fanfan54old You would be surprised. I handout with a group of computer nerds that fix old and rare computers for no other reason than to see them work. That and technology is coming full circle with 3D printing and information being available to everyone. They might not be able to turn this into a profitable business, but they could definitely turn this into some sort of a non-profit with volunteers. If this was in my city I would want to volunteer.

[@commodoresixfour7478]

@DogLookingBackAtYou I was thinking the same thing about the graffiti, except cleaning and restoring one car to original. But I would want to see the system work. If anything it would be an awesome functioning art piece.

[@TheWrightLifeTravelChannel]

I love metro history! You must have to really stay on top of random openings to find such amazing events!

[@spencerwelchii573]

I really enjoy your educational/fun/informative videos and choice of music with 'End of the Line' by the Travelling Wilbury's being very apropos at 7:16

[@jenesisjones6706]

I hadn't realised how much I missed your new videos!🙃

[@marktownend8065]

Very similar to the Perugia Minimetro in Italy, including the cable haulage and turntable reversal at termini.

[@jenniferalbert910]

Flawless video! The graffiti was amazing also 😂

[@Maz77330]

Thank you for showing me again some places of my childhood. My grandmother lived in front on Noisy-le-Grand at the border of Villiers-sur-Marne and while she babysit me every wednesday we went to the mall called "Arcades" where you filmed at 5:28. I never knew that metro even existed, pretty cool !

[@raresmircea]

The art at the entrance is fantastic, great job whoever did it 🙌

[@sheppardpat47]

The fact it was in perfect condition until 2006, and now it looks like nothing... Just imagine if this thing was in Japan, it would still be like new.

[@danielbirchfield8552]

i believe this would be pretty common in a world with more dollars than cents. i imagine if people had lines like these ran to their houses and their own respective little compartments that they'd be willing to switch. however that would cost trillions of dollars in building alone

[@HappyComfort]

Very cool 😎 Can’t wait for some updates on this from you 🥳🥳🥳👍

[@pierrechiles1651]

The X-Files piano cover at the moment you talk about the ghost train is hilarious. Great video as always. Very inspiring 👍

[@logantaylor8354]

the Traveling Wilburys was unexpected though not unwelcome.

[@vintagestuffguy1998]

OMG how can you make a video in Noisy le Grand without sweeping b-roll footage of espaces d’abraxas?! Would love to see a video dedicated to it sometime !

[@TheTimTraveller]

You kind of answered your own question - because it deserves its own video! But also because Abraxas is copyrighted. If you want to film/photograph the building commercially, you are legally required to inform the town hall three weeks in advance, get their permission, and pay for a licence. Otherwise they can take your video/photos down (!). It wasn't worth it just for some b-roll...

[@freewal]

1984, and more recently Hunger Games were filmed there.

[@martinneumann7783]

Très sympa ! Merci Tim…

[@katarinavomdach]

This is exciting. Nice find!

[@JeffreyJakucyk]

Always happy to hear the cover of Sim Broadway, and also the X-Files for good measure.

[@MarcoFHQ]

I mean, of course the locals would insist on pronouncing it "Nwa-see". "Noisy" must have been negatively impacting their property values.

[@TEMUJINARTS]

Great stuff! Comme toujours!

[@williethomson8353]

Thank you for this

[@richmcgee434]

Does that suburb's name literally translate to "Big Noise" in English? Because if so, that's some awesome braggadocio there.

[@Luboman411]

Noisy is probably some great French aristocrat from the medieval period or something. Then the village that became the suburb retained the name. A comparable name in English that could've been appended to an English village would be "Norman the Great" or something similar.

[@richmcgee434]

@@Luboman411 Ah, gotcha, that sounds pretty reasonable. My French is minimal, as you might guess.

[@FranzKafkaRockOpera]

It's a Roman name, a deformation of "Nucetum"! There are actually a lot of towns called variations of Nucetum in Europe, since it means "walnut orchard" and the Romans ate a lot of those. Funnily enough the English word "noise" comes from the French ("noise" still means hurdle, annoyance, tiff, etc. in French), but the resemblance is, as far as I'm aware, purely coincidental.

[@richmcgee434]

@@FranzKafkaRockOpera Interesting. Can't argue with Roman tastes there, I eat a lot of walnuts myself.

[@Dr.K.Wette_BE]

Again they built what could have been useful without checking if the "use" was going to exist. Great underground visit Tim ! (In Belgium we have some "ghost" highways sections near Liège, a perfect post apocalyptic scenery, the A601.)

[@mbarker]

Amazing! I didn't even know a demonstration system had been set up for Expo 86... the Canadian Tire Monorail (now at Alton Towers) took all the glory!

[@PapyPetitPois]

Smells like a new lounge bar to dig new bands at ! Thank you Tim 😄