The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline
railway stations 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. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the
SNCF
The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
in 2018, with SNCF railways and
RER D
RER D is one of the five lines in the (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from north to south, with all trains serving a group ...
accounting for around 110 million and 38 million on the
RER A, making it the second-busiest station of France after 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 capital ...
and one of the
busiest in Europe.
The station is located in the
12th arrondissement, on the
right bank of the river
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
, in the east of Paris. Opened in 1849, it is the northern terminus of the
Paris–Marseille railway
The railway from Paris to Marseille is an 862-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southern port city of Marseille, France, via Dijon and Lyon. The railway was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1856, when the final secti ...
. It is named after the city of
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, a stop for many long-distance trains departing here, most en route to the
South of France
Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...
. The station is served by high-speed
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 19 ...
trains to Southern and Eastern France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Spain. The station also hosts regional trains and the
RER and also the
Gare de Lyon
The Gare de Lyon, officially Paris-Gare-de-Lyon, is one of the six large mainline railway stations in Paris, France. It handles about 148.1 million passengers annually according to the estimates of the SNCF in 2018, with SNCF railways and RER D ...
Métro station.
Main line trains depart from 32 platforms in two distinct halls: Hall 1, which is the older
train shed, contains tracks labelled with letters from A to N, while the modern addition of Hall 2 contains tracks which are numbered from 5 to 23.
There are a further four platforms for the RER underneath the main lines.
History
Lyon railway station had been under construction since 1847. It was officially opened to the public on 12 August 1849 under the name "Railway station from Paris to Montereau" (fr. Embarcadère de chemin de fer de Paris à Montereau). It was a boardwalk building designed by architect
François-Alexis Cendrier under the direction of Baron Haussmann, and at the time of its construction it was awaiting arbitration between the French state and the first
Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) company over its management. PLM did not like the fact that
Mazas prison
The Mazas Prison (French: ''Prison de Mazas'') was a prison in Paris, France.
Designed by architects Émile Gilbert and Jean-François-Joseph Lecointe, it was inaugurated in 1850 and located near the Gare de Lyon, on the Diderot boulevard. The bu ...
was being built next to the station. The company hoped that it could extend the railroad branch line to
Place de la Bastille. But instead of that, Lyon Street (fr. Rue de Lyon) was laid out between the station and Place de la Bastille. The station was expanded many times as the volume of rail traffic increased.
As the station became unsuitable for further expansion, a second Gare de Lyon building was constructed in 1855 by the design of the architect François-Alexis Cendrier. New building was operated by the newly established
Paris à Lyon (PL) railway company. The station was built on a six- to eight-meter high embankment to protect it from the floods of the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributarie ...
. It had only five tracks, occupying a large hall 220 meters long and 42 meters wide. A portico to the right of the entrance to the arrival hall connected the station itself to the Bâtiment X, the central administration building on the side facing Boulevard Mazas. The station was partially destroyed by fire during the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
in 1871 and later rebuilt.
On 8 July 1887, General
Georges Boulanger's departure from Paris triggered a demonstration: 8,000 people stormed the train station and covered the train with "Il reviendra" (He will return) posters and delayed its departure by an hour and a half.
By 1900, in time for the
1900 World's Fair
The Exposition Universelle of 1900, better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate developmen ...
, a new thirteen-track Gare de Lyon building was constructed, designed by the Toulon architect
Marius Toudoire and decorated with a large fresco by the Marseille artist
Jean-Baptiste Olive, depicting some of the cities to which one could take a train from this station. It was inaugurated on 6 April 1901 by
Émile Loubet, president of the Third Republic.
On multiple levels, it is considered a classic example of the architecture of its time. Most notable is the large clock tower atop one corner of the station, similar in style to the clock tower of the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
, home to
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
. The station houses the
Le Train Bleu restaurant, which has served drinks and meals to travellers and other guests since 1901 in an ornately decorated setting.
On 27 June 1988, in the
Gare de Lyon train accident Gare is the word for "station" in French and related languages, commonly meaning train station, railway station
Gare can refer to:
People
* Gare (surname), surname
* The Gare Family, fictional characters in the novel ''Wild Geese (novel)#The Gare ...
, a runaway train crashed into a stationary rush-hour train, killing 56 people and injuring a further 55. A fire broke out on 28 February 2020, that was reportedly started by Congolese protesters.
The station was completely evacuated.
Facade of Paris-Gare de Lyon (5629782550).jpg, Outside the station, with its large clock tower
Albert Maignan - Fresque Le train Bleu.jpg, 19th century wall painting by Albert Maignan
Albert Pierre René Maignan (14 October 1845 – 29 September 1908) was a French history painter and illustrator.
Biography
In 1864, he left his hometown to study law in Paris, earning his diploma in 1866. During his studies he also paint ...
inside the Le Train Bleu restaurant, in the main hall of Paris-Lyon station
Paris_Gare_de_Lyon_hall_panorama.jpg, Inside the station's Hall 1
Train services
From Gare de Lyon train services depart to major French cities such as:
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
,
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
,
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
,
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
,
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
,
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
,
Besançon,
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...
,
Grenoble and a number of destinations in the
French Alps. International services operate to Italy:
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
; Switzerland:
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
,
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
; and Spain:
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
.
The following services currently call at Gare de Lyon:
*High speed 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 19 ...
'')
**Paris–Lyon
**Paris–Avignon–Marseille
**Paris–Avignon–Toulon–Cannes–Nice
**Paris–Lyon–Montpellier–Béziers–Narbonne–Perpignan
**Paris–Lyon–Montpellier–Perpignan–Girona–Barcelona
**Paris–Grenoble
**Paris–Bellegarde–Annemasse–Evian-les-Bains
**Paris–Lyon–Chambéry–Turin–Milan
**Paris–Chambéry–Aix-les-Bains–Annecy
**Paris–Dijon–Besançon–Belfort–Mulhouse
**Paris–Dijon–Besançon-Viotte
**Paris–Dijon–Chalon-sur-Saône
**Paris–Lyon–Saint-Étienne
**Paris–Valence–Avignon–Miramas
**Paris–Chambéry–Albertville–Bourg-Saint-Maurice ''(winter)''
*High speed services (''
Frecciarossa'')
**Paris–Lyon–Chambéry–Turin–Milan
**Paris-Lyon-Part-Dieu-Lyon-Perrache
*High speed services (''
TGV Lyria'')
**Paris–Bellegarde–Geneva (–Lausanne)
**Paris–Belfort–Mulhouse–Basel (–Zurich)
**Paris–Dijon–Lausanne
*Regional services Paris–Montereau–Sens–Laroche-Migennes
*Regional services (''
Transilien'') Paris–Melun–Moret–Nemours–Montargis
*Paris RER services ''A''
**Saint-Germain-en-Laye–Nanterre-Universite–La Defense–Gare de Lyon–Vincennes–Boissy-Saint-Leger
**Cergy le Haut–Conflans–Sartrouville–La Defense–Gare de Lyon–Vincennes–Val-de-Fontenay–Marne-la-Vallee (Disneyland)
**Poissy–Sartrouville–La Defense–Gare de Lyon–Vincennes–Val-de-Fontenay–Marne-la-Vallee (Disneyland)
*Paris RER services ''D''
**Creil–Orry-la-Ville–Goussainville–Saint Denis–Gare du Nord–Gare de Lyon–Combs-la-Ville–Melun
**Goussainville–Saint Denis–Gare du Nord–Gare de Lyon–Juvisy–Ris–Corbeil
**Châtelet–Gare de Lyon–Juvisy–Grigny–Corbeil–Malesherbes
**Gare de Lyon–Juvisy–Grigny–Corbeil–Melun
In films
The station has appeared in the following films:
* 1972: ''
Travels with My Aunt
''Travels with My Aunt'' (1969) is a novel written by English author Graham Greene.
The novel follows the travels of Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, and his eccentric Aunt Augusta as they find their way across Europe, and eventually ev ...
'', directed by
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...
* 1998: ''
L'étudiante'', Starring
Sophie Marceau
Sophie Marceau (; born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, 17 November 1966) is a French actress. As a teenager, she achieved popularity with her debut films ''La Boum'' (1980) and ''La Boum 2'' (1982), receiving a César Award for Most Promising Act ...
* 2005: ''
The Mystery of the Blue Train
''The Mystery of the Blue Train'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by William Collins & Sons on 29 March 1928 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in th ...
'', an Hercule Poirot mystery novel by Agatha Christie (and its TV adaptation)
* 2007: ''
Mr. Bean's Holiday
''Mr. Bean's Holiday'' is a 2007 comedy film directed by Steve Bendelack and written by Hamish McColl and Robin Driscoll, from a story penned by Simon McBurney. Based on the British sitcom series ''Mr. Bean'' created by Rowan Atkinson and Richar ...
'', directed by
Steve Bendelack
Steve Bendelack is an English filmmaker and television director who has worked primarily on comedy programmes.
Originally an assistant to Peter Fluck and Roger Law on satirical TV puppet show ''Spitting Image'', Bendelack went on to direct the s ...
* 2010: ''
The Tourist'', directed by
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (; born 2 May 1973) is an Academy Award-winning German and Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The L ...
See also
*
List of Paris railway stations
Below is a list of railway stations in Paris, France, current and historical.
Active stations
Major lines
These stations are the terminal stations of major lines (trains going beyond the Île-de-France region), and, except for Bercy, the subur ...
*
List of stations of the Paris RER
*
List of stations of the Paris Métro
*
Gare de Lyon rail accident Gare is the word for "station" in French and related languages, commonly meaning railway station
Gare can refer to:
People
* Gare (surname), surname
* The Gare Family, fictional characters in the novel '' Wild Geese'' by Martha Ostenso
Places
* ...
References
External links
*
*
Intercity and TGV schedules from SNCF*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon
Réseau Express Régional stations
Railway termini in Paris
Buildings and structures in the 12th arrondissement of Paris
Railway stations in France opened in 1847
Railway stations located underground in France