RER C - History

History

Line C was opened on 26 September 1979 following the construction of a new 1-kilometre (0.62 mi) tunnel connecting the Gare d'Orsay railway terminus (now Musée d'Orsay) with the Invalides terminus of the Rive Gauche line to Versailles, along the banks of the Seine. Services operated between Versailles-Château – Invalides – Quai-d'Orsay, branching to Massy – Palaiseau, and Juvisy – Dourdan / Saint-Martin d'Étampes.

May 1980 : Service extended Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines – Versailles – Chantiers – Gare des Invalides.

On 25 September 1988 the VMI ("Vallée de Montmorency – Invalides") branch to the north-west opened. This branch mostly used the infrastructure of the "ligne d'Auteuil" (incorporated into the "ligne de petite ceinture" from 1867, closed to passengers from 22 July 1934), and a new 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) tunnel connection between Batignolles and St-Ouen, connecting to the RER C's main trunk at Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel via a curved bridge (the only one in Paris) over the Seine river. This extended services to Montigny – Beauchamp and Argenteuil.

Porte de Clichy opened on 29 September 1991. Located between Pereire – Levallois and St-Ouen.

In 1992 the line was extended from Juvisy to Versailles.

A further 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) extension from Montigny – Beauchamp to Pontoise was opened on 28 August 2000. On the same day a new station, Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, opened in order to create a new connexion with Métro Line 14. Located between Paris-Austerlitz and Boulevard Masséna (which was closed and replaced by the new station).

Another new station, St-Ouen-l'Aumône-Liesse, opened on 24 March 2002. Located between Pierrelaye and St-Ouen-l'Aumône.

The C3 branch (from Ermont-Eaubonne to Argenteuil) transferred to the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail network on 27 August 2006.

On 16 December 2006, Boulevard Victor was renamed Boulevard Victor – Pont du Garigliano to highlight the new interchange with tramway line T3. In February 2012, Versailles - Rive Gauche was renamed Versailles-Château, to avoid frequent tourists confusions with other stations in Versailles.