Raise your eyes to the sky for your next train

Every city’s transport company has its own system of timetables and of informing travelers when the next bus or train can be expected.
In Paris, you raise your eyes to the sky to have the answer. (Unless you check the transport company’s app on your smartphone.)

SIEL on métro 7 northbound

Why the sky? It’s word play. The French word for sky (and heaven, by the way), is ciel. The information system on the Paris public transport is called Système d’information en ligne, acronym SIEL, which is pronounced almost the same as ciel.

SIEL on recently modernized métro 4

SIEL captures the next two métros or buses in real time, so next time you are at a Paris bus stop or metro station, raise your eyes to the SIEL, it will provide the answer.

SIEL at a bus stop
SIEL in a bus shelter

For good measure, here’s one you really don’t want to see:

SIEL on métro 13 southbound on a strike day
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