The railway from Paris to Lille is an important
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
251-kilometre long
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
line, that connects
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
to the northern French city
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...
. Branch lines offer connections to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. As one of the first railway lines in France, it was opened on 20 June 1846.
The opening of the
LGV Nord
The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord (North High-Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French -long high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille.
With a maximum speed ...
high speed line from Paris to Lille in 1993 has decreased its importance for passenger traffic.
Route
The Paris–Lille railway begins at the
Gare du Nord
The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capit ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, running north for 6 km until
Saint-Denis. From here, it climbs in northeastern direction at a constant 5 mm/km incline. Near
Marly-la-Ville, it turns north and then northwest, and descends towards the river
Oise
Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...
. At
Creil
Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction.
History
Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belongin ...
, the Oise is crossed. The
line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Art ...
to
Saint-Quentin and
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
branches off at Creil.
The line leaves the Oise valley and continues north to the river
Somme __NOTOC__
Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places
*Somme (department), a department of France
*Somme, Queensland, Australia
*Canal de la Somme, a canal in France
*Somme (river), a river in France
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Somme'' (book), a ...
at
Longueau near
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
. Here the
Longueau–Boulogne railway to the
Gare d'Amiens and
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the Cà ...
branches off to the west, and a line to
Laon
Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territori ...
to the east. The line to Lille continues in northeastern direction, following the valley of the Somme until
Corbie
Corbie (; nl, Korbei) is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The small town is situated up river from Amiens, in the département of Somme and is the main town of the canton of Corbie. It lies i ...
, and then the river
Ancre
The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, it flows into the Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the department of Somme. For a short stretch near Puis ...
until
Miraumont, where the line turns north until it reaches
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the ...
.
From Arras it follows the river
Scarpe in eastern direction until
Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Do ...
, where it turns northwest. After
Ostricourt
Ostricourt () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
Population
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic.
The communes ...
it turns north again, entering the agglomeration of
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...
. After a total length of 251 km, it reaches its terminus
Gare de Lille-Flandres.
Main stations
The main stations on the Paris–Lille railway are:
*
Gare du Nord
The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capit ...
(Paris)
*
Gare de Creil
*
Gare de Longueau
Longueau station (French: ''Gare de Longueau'') is a railway station in Longueau near Amiens, France. It is situated on the Paris–Lille railway. Longueau is served by trains of the TER Hauts-de-France and Intercités networks. As well as serving ...
*
Gare d'Arras
*
Gare de Douai
Douai is a railway station serving the town of Douai, Nord, France. The station opened in 1846 and is located on the Paris–Lille railway and Douai–Valenciennes railway. The train services are operated by SNCF.
Train services
The station is s ...
*
Gare de Lille-Flandres
History
The idea of linking
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
was studied by the
French Government
The Government of France (French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, wh ...
as early as 1833.
By November 1842, the northern French cities
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...
and
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...
were already connected to the
Belgian railway network.
[ In July 1844 a law was passed that determined the route of the new railway from Paris to Lille. Exploitation of the line from Paris to Lille and several branch lines was granted to the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord. Owners of the CF du Nord were Hottinger, Laffitte, Blount and Baron de Rothschild as president. The railway line as well as the Parisian station was inaugurated in June 1846.][
The line originally passed through the ]Oise
Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...
valley, along Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône
Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s.
Population
Transport
Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône is served by tw ...
and Persan
Persan () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, Île-de-France, northern France. Persan–Beaumont station has rail connections to Pontoise, Creil, Sarcelles and Paris.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Val-d'Oise department
The fo ...
. This way a steep climb and descent between Saint-Denis and Creil could be avoided. The arrival of stronger engines prompted the CF du Nord to construct a 19 km shorter line between Saint-Denis and Creil over the plateau, passing along Chantilly. This new section was opened on 10 May 1859.
Since the opening of the LGV Nord
The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord (North High-Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French -long high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille.
With a maximum speed ...
high speed line between Paris and Lille in 1993, most long-distance passenger traffic has shifted away from the classical Paris–Lille line. It remains an important railway for freight traffic and regional passenger traffic.
Services
The Paris–Lille railway is used by the following passenger services:
*TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 1 ...
, Thalys
Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via ...
and Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
on the section between Paris and Villiers-le-Bel - Gonesse, and on short stretches near Arras and Lille
*TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 1 ...
additionally on the section between Arras and Lille
*Intercités
Intercités (before September 2009: ''Corail Intercités'') is a brand name used by France’s national railway company, SNCF, to denote non high speed services on the 'classic' network in France.
SNCF established the Intercités brand in January ...
from Paris to Boulogne on the section between Paris and Longueau, and Intercités from Paris to Cambrai and Maubeuge on the section between Paris and Creil
*TER Hauts-de-France
TER Hauts-de-France is the regional rail network serving the region of Hauts-de-France, northern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Nord-Pas-de-Calais an ...
regional services on the whole line
*Transilien
Transilien () is the brand name given to the commuter rail network serving ÃŽle-de-France, the region surrounding and including the city of Paris. The network consists of eight lines: H, J, K, L, N, U, P and R, each operated by SNCF, t ...
regional services on the section between Paris and Saint-Denis
* RER D Paris rapid transit on the section between Paris and Creil
References
External links
Transilien network map
TER Hauts-de-France railway map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris-Lille railway
Railway lines in ÃŽle-de-France
Railway lines in Hauts-de-France
Railway lines opened in 1846
1846 establishments in France