Since I got to Paris several weeks before the start of the program, I have some experience with some of Paris’ public transit. When going from CDG to my mother’s cousins apartment near the Champs-de-Mars, the RER B stop at Charles De Gaulles was in Terminal 2.
One thing I noticed on the RER C is that the announcement will say if a train’s short or not, and to go to the “short train zone”. When my mother and I were going to Gare De Nord for a train to Brussels Zuid/Midi, I looked down while at the Champ de Mars stop and saw a teal strip with “short train” on it. At a different stop I don’t remember the name of, I recall it being a yellow rectangle, which seemed inconsistent. Before noticing these markers, I just assumed everyone knew where it was and to just follow a crowd and hope they weren’t going towards the station exit.
M6/Rubber-tired Metro Observations
Other than the RER C, and periodically the B, one of the Metro lines we frequently used to travel was the M6. The ride felt bumpier than the other Metro lines and RER lines, and just felt less safe while in motion. The method of cooling just seems to be air blowing in from the ceiling that only occurs while moving, meaning station stops very quickly get hot again. Something else I noticed was that, after seeing the Arc de Triomphe and walking to the Kleber stop, the train remained there for several minutes as opposed to the short 1-2 minute waits elsewhere. This was probably just a one-off thing, though.
Belgium NMBS/SNCB Observations
While in Brussels, we used the Belgian state railway system to go to Ghent, Antwerp, Waterloo and Shaerbeek. Some things I noticed is that their two-floor coaches are frequently covered in graffiti which isn’t a good look. Even if they were cleaned, the graffiti was still partially visible in places. I feel like Belgium should either do better at cleaning their equipment, or build it out of a graffiti-resistant material so they can continue not cleaning the exteriors. The only time I ever recall seeing graffiti on U.S. transit vehicles were photographs of the New York subway in the 1980s, both interior and exterior.
(CLEAN YOUR STUFF PLEASE)
Despite the main concourse of Brussels-Zuid being a fairly big area, there were maybe 8 ticket machines and they were frequently many people waiting to use them.
Antwerpen-Centraal is a gorgeous station both inside and out, while Shaerbeek’s exterior is also very pretty.
A complaint, I suppose.
Despite having high platforms, the Eurostar from Gare du Nord, RER C, and NMBS still required you to step up into the train depending on the station you are waiting at.
I have noticed thus far that the railway system in Paris is very nuanced, and because I do not speak the language well, there is still much that I miss about it. I find your observations interesting and pose thoughts that I, in my travels, have thought about or missed entirely, such as the short trains. I, too, found the experience of certain train systems interesting and can feel the rubber on the cars.