MP 59

MP 59
Refurbished MP 59 train operating on Line 11
Renovated interior of an MP 59 train
In service30 May 1963 – 13 June 2024
ManufacturerAlstom, CEM, CIMT [fr], Jeumont-Schneider
ReplacedSprague-Thomson
Constructed1963–1967
Refurbished1989–1994
Scrapped1999–2024
Number built607 cars (101 trainsets)
SuccessorMP 89, MP 14
Formation
  • 4 cars
  • 6 cars
OperatorsRATP
Lines served
  • Paris MétroParis Métro Line 1 (until 2000)
  • Paris MétroParis Métro Line 4 (until 2012)
  • Paris MétroParis Métro Line 11 (until 2024)
Specifications
Train length
  • 4-car set: 60 m (196 ft 10 in)
  • 6-car set: 90 m (295 ft 3 in)
Car length15 m (49 ft 3 in)
Width2.45 m (8 ft 0 in)
Doors4 pairs per side, per car
Maximum speed70 km/h (43 mph)
Traction systemResistor control
Traction motorsAlsthom Type MP3
Power output1,760 kW (2,360 hp)
Acceleration3.5 km/(h⋅s) (2.2 mph/s)
Deceleration4.5 km/(h⋅s) (2.8 mph/s)
Electric system(s)Guide bar750 V DC
Current collector(s)Contact shoes, side running on the vertical face of the guide bars
BogiesANF Type MP59
Braking system(s)Disc, rheostatic
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 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.