Paris Metro


Paris Metro

Paris Metro

We design, manufacture, install and maintain all kinds of lifts for the Paris Metro since 1999: from high traffic lifts with vandal-resistant lift cars and doors (Category 1 and Category 2 compliant) to fire-resistant, water-resistant, heavy-duty, automatic or inclined lifts.

The RATP Group is the world’s fifth largest public transport company, operating all types of collective mobility – bus, underground, trains and trams. Within the Paris area, it develops,  runs, maintains and modernizes one of the world’s densest public transport networks, moving over 10 million people daily. United by their spirit of public service, the Group’s 56,000 men and women share a common objective: to enable their passengers to travel as calmly, as quickly and as comfortably as possible. The RATP and its subsidiaries export this expertise across all five continents.

  • IMEM Lifts has been an officially approved supplier to the RATP since 1999 and its most important one in the vertical transport field based on the number of lifts installed and the overall sales revenue.
  • 30% of the Paris underground´s 500 plus  lifts have been manufactured by IMEM Lifts.
  • Fifty two Paris tube stations are equipped with IMEM lifts.
  • For this special partnership IMEM Lifts takes care of the whole lift’s life cycle including design, manufacture, installation and maintenance.
  • Every lift is made to measure, there are no standard models. Each lift is built according to the criteria established by the RATP and the prestigious architect in charge of the particular project.
  • Installations comply to various specific rail transport standards and regulations.
  • Paris Underground Lifts have an expected 30-year working life period.
  • IMEM prepares specific documentation for the RATP’s maintenance division.
  • IMEM must guarantee lifts are in full working capacity a minimum of 99.8% of the time, 20 hours a day and 365 days a year.
  • Access to the lifts can be achieved by remote control. Information about lift’s availability status is accessible through the internet in real time.
  • Each lift has two parallel communication channels, point-to-point and the RATP’s own proprietary MODbus protocol. Along these channels, our lifts automatically send information about their condition, second by second, using 5 distinct identifiers, 8 traffic management indicators and 83 specific status definitions.

The development of new products for the RATP’s specific needs

  • The design of an MRL (machine-roomless) lift. Traditionally, RATP had always installed lifts which required a separate machine room. IMEM Lifts was the company called in to specially design and introduce an MRL lift which would best suit the pressing needs of the Metro network. Ever since then, all the lifts installed in its new stations have been MRL, making IMEM Lifts the pioneer in this field on the Paris Metro.
  • MRL lifts are now the first-choice technological solution in the international lift sector: among their many other advantages, they save space, they eliminate the need for a machine room, they run quietly, they are very energy-efficient, they deliver a much smoother ride than other lift types, they cut passenger waiting time and they are much better at managing traffic flow. In fact IMEM Lifts was just the second European lift company, in 1997, to take the decision to move into the production of MRL lifts with permanent-magnet gearless drive systems, well ahead of all our competitors, bar one. Now IMEM has thousands of MRL lift systems installed and operating all over the world.
  • The design of a heavy-duty freight lift to service the RATP’s repair workshops.
  • The design of an inclined lift for Lognes station. We developed an inclined lift to eliminate the need for escalators at stations where there was insufficient space to install regular lifts.