Joe wrote:
Both lines, of course, rely on a driver in the cab to control the
on-board systems, so they are not completely automatic.
In Paris, Line 14 of the Métro has no staff on trains or, as far
as I could see, on platforms. Even at the terminus, if you fail
to alight, they take you into the reversing siding for a few
minutes before starting the return journey.

That sounds to me very unsafe, in the event of an emergency like
what we had here recently, evecuation would have been much slower,

Not necessarily. In the case of the Piccadilly Line bombing, people in
the rear five cars had nobody to help them until rescuers arrived along
the tunnel from King's Cross. The tunnels in Paris are mostly double
track with no fourth rail, which makes evacuation easier.

plus some stations need to have different 'dwell times.'

Maybe, but I can think of various ways of achieving that automatically.
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)