Gare d'Austerlitz

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Paris Austerlitz SNCF
Gare Paris-Austerlitz.jpg
Paris Austerlitz railway station
Location Paris, Île-de-France
France
Coordinates 48°50′32″N 2°21′57″E / 48.84222°N 2.36583°E / 48.84222; 2.36583Coordinates: 48°50′32″N 2°21′57″E / 48.84222°N 2.36583°E / 48.84222; 2.36583
Line(s) Paris–Bordeaux railway
Platforms 25
Tracks 25
History
Opened 20 September 1840
The tracks to Gare d'Austerlitz (seen here with a suburban train) run south of the Bibliothèque nationale de France`.

Paris Austerlitz (Austerlitz Station) is one of the six large terminus railway stations in Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine in the southeastern part of the city, in the 13th arrondissement. It is the start of the Paris–Bordeaux railway; the line to Toulouse is connected to this line. Since the introduction of the TGV Atlantique — using Gare Montparnasse — Austerlitz has lost most of its long-distance southwestern services. It is used by some 30 million passengers annually, about half the number passing through Montparnasse.

The Elipsos Train Hotels (Trenhotel) operated jointly between RENFE and SNCF operated from here to Madrid and Barcelona. They would leave in the early evening and arrive next morning. With the start of a direct TGV from Paris to Barcelona, on 15 December 2013, the Trenhotel services finished.

History[edit]

The Gare d'Austerlitz was built in 1840 in order to serve first the Paris-Corbeil then the Paris-Orleans line. The station was originally called the Gare d'Orléans. An 1865-1868 extension was designed by architect Pierre-Louis Renaud.

The station takes its name from the Czech town once known as Austerlitz (today Slavkov u Brna). Napoleon I defeated the superior numbers of the Third Coalition on 2 December 1805 there in the Battle of Austerlitz.

Future[edit]

A large refurbishment project of the Paris Austerlitz is currently underway. Four new platforms are being constructed and all the existing tracks are being refurbished. The interior will be rebuilt in order to handle TGV Sud-Est and TGV Atlantique services, partially transferred from the Gare de Lyon and Gare Montparnasse, both of which are at maximum capacity. All the work is planned to be completed by 2020, and will double the activity at the station.

Train services[edit]

The following services currently call at Paris-Austerlitz:

  • intercity services (Intercités) Paris - Orléans
  • intercity services (Intercités) Paris - Orléans - Blois - Tours
  • intercity services (Intercités) Paris - Orléans - Vierzon - Bourges - Montluçon
  • intercity services (Intercités) Paris - Vierzon - Limoges - Brive - Toulouse
  • night services (Intercités de Nuit) Paris - Toulouse - Latour-de-Carol
  • night services (Intercités de Nuit) Paris - Orléans - Portbou/Albi
  • night services (Intercités de Nuit) Paris - Toulon - Nice
  • night services (Intercités de Nuit) Paris - Gap - Briançon
Preceding station   SNCF   Following station
Terminus Intercités
toward Tours
Intercités
toward Montluçon
Intercités
toward Toulouse
Terminus Intercités
night trains
Terminus Intercités
night trains
toward Portbou or Albi
Terminus Intercités
night trains
toward Nice-Ville
Terminus Intercités
night trains
toward Briançon
toward Orléans
TER Centre-Val de Loire 1.1 Terminus
toward Vendôme
TER Centre-Val de Loire 2.10
RER RER C

Gare d'Austerlitz also hosts stations on the Paris Métro (lines 5 and 10, see Gare d'Austerlitz (Paris Métro)) and RER.

See also[edit]

References[edit]