Paris to the North

Posted on 27/02/2024 by Mayken

Gare du Nord is both the busiest and the most international of the six Paris train stations.

It was opened in 1846. Today, according to SNCF estimations, nearly 300 million travelers pass Gare du Nord every day, on SNCF trains, Eurostar train, and RER trains, not counting the three metro lines stopping at Gare du Nord (lines 4 and 5) and nearby La Chapelle (line 2, linked via a pedestrian tunnel).

The Gare du Nord building is on the list of historic monuments. When it was enlarged in the early 1860s (and the façade was moved to Lille), most of the columns were made in Glasgow (Scotland) whose foundry plant was the only one capable of creating pieces that size.

The long distance trains connect Paris to northern France, notably Lille. The train station Lille Flandres inherited part of the old Gare du Nord building when the latter was enlarged. However, the Eurostar train linking Paris to London via Lille, stops at the newer Lille Europe station.

Since the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen area, passengers taking the Eurostar to London have to go through customs and passport checks in a separate area on the +1 level in the main hall.

Stairs and escalators leading up to the UK Hall

The UK Eurostar area is not accessible on ground level

The continental Eurostar, formerly known as Thalys, connects Paris to Brussels (Belgium) and from there, Amsterdam (Netherlands), or Cologne and Dortmund (Germany). Since all these countries are part of the Schengen area, no passport checks are required and the passengers can access the platforms and trains without any barriers on ground level.

The continental Eurostar (ex-Thalys) can be accessed directly from ground level

The main hall seen from the track side with Thalys trains in 2023

Suburb trains can be found in the newer glass-roofed hall on the eastern side of the historic building. This is also where numerous escalators lead to the lower levels and the RER and metro trains serving Gare du Nord.

A rail belt around Paris

Posted on 24/01/2023 by Mayken

In the mid-19^th century, a train track was built circling Paris like a belt just inside the boulevard des Maréchaux (see The Adolphe Thiers Wall). Called La Petite Ceinture, or Little Belt, it had junctions with all major train lines, so there was no need to go to the terminus stations. Initially meant for freight traffic, it started opining to passenger trains in 1862, giving workers relatively moderately priced train service through the suburbs of the capital to which Baron Haussmann’s works had relegated them.

*Ouest Ceinture* station near *Porte de Vanves*

At the end of the 19^th century, another belt-like railway line was built, 15km outside the Boulevard Périphérique (which roughly corresponds to the official city limits). This was called La Grande Ceinture and meant to connect the radial train lines linking Paris to the rest of the country and relieving the Petite Ceinture.

Nevertheless, peak traffic of 39 million passengers was reached on the Petite Ceinture during the 1900 World Fair. However, afterwards Parisians gradually abandoned the line in favor of the newly created métropolitain and omnibuses, which provided alternative offers better adapted to urban needs.

The *Montrouge* station on *Avenue du Général Leclerc* in the 14th has become a restaurant, behind it (to the left), there’s a staircase giving access to the *Petite Ceinture*.

The train line closed down definitely in 1934. It was immediately replaced by a bus line taking its name, shortened to “PC”. Only a few night trains still ran for a while, freight trains kept running until the 1990s.

A passenger train on the *Petite Ceinture* for a special occasion in 1992

The PC bus line has since been partially replaced by the T3A and T3B trams, but the last section between T3A terminus Pont du Garigliano and T3B terminus Porte d’Asnières is still served by the PC bus.

The Petite Ceinture infrastructure was largely abandoned and is today invaded by vegetation, which has given the line a special atmosphere and allowed for the development of a unique biodiversity in Paris.

Since 2007, the national French railway company SNCF, has authorized the temporary creation of greenways on certain sections. By preserving the platform, the SNCF keeps the option of one day reopening the line to passenger traffic.

There is one exception though: On the stretch between Avenue Henri Martin and Porte de Clichy stations, the RER C trains still run on the Petite Ceinture platform.

There used to be an entrance to the Paris Catacombs in the Montsouris tunnel, and even today adventurers out for the (completely illegal) exploration of the catacombs can be spotted in certain spots of the train track in the 14^th arrondissement.

At Poterne des Peupliers in the 13^th arrondissement, the train tracks were used for test runs of the new fully automatic metro line 14 before it was put into service in 1998.

The Petite Ceinture rail line (in purple)

Special Events on the Champs Élysées

Posted on 18/01/2022 by Mayken

The Champs Élysées is not only called la plus belle avenue du monde, the most beautiful avenue in the world, it is also a central and large space and thus perfect for special events and occasions.
People will assemble spontaneously on “Les Champs” for certain occasions, such as New Year’s Eve, or after the French national soccer team’s World Cup victories in 1998 and 2018.

Some planned events that transformed the avenue temporarily were:

La Grande Moisson (the Great Harvest) on 24 June 1990 transformed the Champs into a giant wheat field with harvesting machines.

During Train Capitale from May 15 to June 17, 2003, historic and modern trains were exposed and temporary train tracks were laid so a train could run between place de la Concorde and Avenue Georges V.