Paris Métro train fire, Train accident site in Paris, France

The accident de métro du 10 août 1903 à Paris, also known as the Couronnes disaster, was a train fire that occurred on Line 2 Nord of the Paris Métro. It involved a wooden train that caught fire after an electrical short circuit, leading to the deaths of 84 people, most of them at Couronnes station.

On 10 August 1903, a fire broke out on a train on Line 2 Nord, just three years after the metro opened. The incident led to major safety reforms, including the replacement of wooden train cars with metal ones and the installation of emergency lighting and fire stations.

The disaster is remembered in Parisian memory as a turning point in metro safety, and the name Couronnes is often associated with the tragedy. Today, the stations Couronnes and Ménilmontant are ordinary metro stops, but they carry a silent history that locals sometimes recall.

The site is not a typical tourist attraction but rather a historical event remembered in the Paris Métro system. Visitors can learn about it through plaques or displays at the stations involved, such as Couronnes and Ménilmontant, which are still in operation today.

The disaster was the worst in the history of the Paris Métro and the second worst metro disaster worldwide at the time. It also led to the adoption of multiple-unit train control, a technology that is now standard in metro systems globally.