Wednesday 18 January - Train riding

It was a beautiful cloudless day today but pretty cold, temperatures were around zero with a bad.   Armed with a five zone moblis ticket and a baguette with stilton and mustard I decided to explore some of the outer suburban lines in the west of Paris.
- Metro Villiers to Saint-Lazare
- Saint-Lazare to Mantes la Jolie via Conflans
- Mantes La Jolie to Paris Montparnasse via Versailles Chantiers
- Metro Montparnasse to Porte de Versailles
- Tram T2 Porte de Versailles to La Defense
- La Defense to Saint-Lazare
- Saint-Lazare to Pont Cardinet

The weather was good the entire time and much of the route was through outer Paris farmland. However, it is evident that many Parisians do not know how to dress for cold weather.  No hats or gloves and light jackets or sometimes just a scarf.

Saint-Lazare was light and airy with the sun shining through the glass panels in the roof.

An 827xxx class electric locomotive pushed us out to Mantes la Jolie

At Mantes la Jolie there was tine to have a grand creme at a bar and make use of the facilities.

The 827xxx locomotives run into Saint-Lazare in the lead but they run in the rear into Montparnasse

At Mantes la Jolie 817054 was on a train in a siding, presumably ready to work a train later in the day.

The train running into Montparnasse uses 25,000V AC on the first part of the route but the overhead line voltage changes to 15,000V AC just before Versailles.  The driver told me that, although the locomotives are capable of handling both voltages, he has to make this change himself .

Montparnasse

The ride to La Defense was particularly pleasant alongside the Seine with bright slanting sunlight. All trains ran to time.