Gare de Lyon
France
The station, which opened in 1849, is the northern endpoint of the Paris–Marseille railway and is named after the city of Lyon, which is a popular stop for many long-distance trains departing from this station. High-speed TGV trains connect the station to Southern and Eastern France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Spain, while regional trains and the RER also operate from the station. The Gare de Lyon Métro station is also located here.
The station has two distinct halls, with main line trains departing from 32 platforms. Hall 1, the older train shed, features tracks labelled with letters from A to N, while Hall 2, the modern addition, contains numbered tracks from 5 to 23. Additionally, there are four platforms for the RER located underneath the main lines.
History
The Lyon railway station underwent construction from 1847 and was officially opened to the public in 1849. It was originally named "Railway station from Paris to Montereau" and was designed by architect François-Alexis Cendrier under the direction of Baron Haussmann. 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.
The station was expanded multiple times as rail traffic increased, but eventually became unsuitable for further expansion. A second Gare de Lyon building was constructed in 1855, designed by the same architect, on a six to eight-meter high embankment to protect it from the floods of the Seine. The station was partially destroyed by fire during the Paris Commune in 1871 and later rebuilt.
In 1900, a new thirteen-track Gare de Lyon building was constructed in time for the 1900 World's Fair. It was designed by the Toulon architect Marius Toudoire and decorated with a large fresco by the Marseille artist Jean-Baptiste Olive. The station is considered a classic example of the architecture of its time, and it features a large clock tower atop one corner, similar in style to the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster.
The station also houses the Le Train Bleu restaurant, which has served drinks and meals to travellers and other guests since 1901 in an ornately decorated setting. However, the station has experienced some tragic incidents. On 8 July 1887, General Georges Boulanger's departure from Paris triggered a demonstration in which 8,000 people stormed the train station and delayed the departure of the train.
In 1988, a train accident occurred in the Gare de Lyon, in which a runaway train crashed into a stationary rush-hour train, resulting in the deaths of 56 people and injuring a further 55. And on 28 February 2020, a fire broke out in the station, reportedly started by Congolese protesters, which led to the complete evacuation of the station.
Train services
The Gare de Lyon station offers train services to various prominent cities in France, including Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Montpellier, Perpignan, Dijon, Besançon, Mulhouse, Grenoble, and several destinations in the French Alps. In addition, there are international services available to cities such as Turin and Milan in Italy, Geneva, Zürich, Basel, and Lausanne in Switzerland, and Barcelona in Spain.
Movies
The following movies have featured the station:
- Travels with My Aunt, directed by George Cukor in 1972.
- L'étudiante, starring Sophie Marceau in 1998.
- The Mystery of the Blue Train, a TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mystery novel in 2005.
- Mr. Bean's Holiday, directed by Steve Bendelack in 2007.
- The Tourist, directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in 2010.