MP 59

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.

MP 59
Refurbished MP 59 train operating on Line 11
Renovated interior of an MP 59 train
In service	30 May 1963 – 13 June 2024
Manufacturer	Alsthom, CEM, CIMT [fr], Jeumont-Schneider
Replaced	Sprague-Thomson MP 55
Constructed	1963–1967
Refurbished	1989–1994
Scrapped	1999–2024
Number built	607 cars (101 trainsets)
Successor	MP 89, MP 14
Formation	4 cars 6 cars
Operators	RATP
Lines served	(until 2000)   (until 2012)   (until 2024)
Specifications
Train length	4-car set: 60 m (196 ft 10 in) 6-car set: 90 m (295 ft 3 in)
Car length	15 m (49 ft 3 in)
Width	2.45 m (8 ft 0 in)
Doors	4 pairs per side, per car
Maximum speed	70 km/h (43 mph)
Traction system	Resistor control
Traction motors	Alsthom Type MP3
Power output	1,760 kW (2,360 hp)
Acceleration	3.5 km/(h⋅s) (2.2 mph/s)
Deceleration	4.5 km/(h⋅s) (2.8 mph/s)
Electric system(s)	Guide bar, 750 V DC
Current collector(s)	Contact shoes, side running on the vertical face of the guide bars
Bogies	ANF Type MP59
Braking system(s)	Disc, rheostatic
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, with running pads for the rubber-tyred wheels outside of the steel rails

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 The first MP 59 train to be retired from service was #049, which was withdrawn in April 2011. #021 was withdrawn on December 21, 2012, and was the last train to be retired.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 replaced the last MP 59 trains on Line 11 with 39 MP 14 trains: the replacement MP 14 trains for Line 11 are 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 were still in service as of June 2024.^[5][6] The last MP 59 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]

Gallery

• 
  MP 59 at Bastille station in 1964
• 
  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 their service.

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
• Folding seats available off-peak: 146
• Maximum speed: 70 km/h (43 mph)
• Maximum power: 1,760 kW (2,360 hp)
• Average acceleration of 1.3 m/s² (4.3 ft/s²) from 0 to 30 km/h (0 to 19 mph) (four travelers / m²);
• Maximum braking normal steady state: 2 m/s² (6.6 ft/s²)

Other networks

• Montreal Metro had a forked version named MR-63
• Mexico City Metro has a forked version named MP-68
• Santiago Metro has a forked version named NS-74