Gare de la Part-Dieu

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The Gare de la Part-Dieu (Part-Dieu rail station) is the primary train station for travellers to metropolitan Lyon, France, busier than the other stations in the city: Perrache (in the city-center), Lyon-Vaise, Lyon-Saint-Paul, and Lyon-Gorges de Loup.

The station was constructed in 1978 as part of the new Part-Dieu urban neighborhood. As the planners intended Part-Dieu to act as a second central city for Lyon, the large rail station was built in conjunction with a shopping mall (the largest in France), a major government office complex, and the tallest skyscraper in the region, nicknamed "le crayon" (the pencil) for its shape.

[edit] Rail connections

Part-Dieu is a significant hub in the French rail network (SNCF), connecting to a number of cities, both French and international. It is directly connected to Paris, Marseilles, Valence, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Perpignan, Rouen, Roissy, Lille, Brussels, Geneva, Metz, Strasburg, Tarbes, Bayonne, Nantes, and Bordeaux.

The station is served by France's high-speed rail service, TGV, in addition to regional TER trains.

[edit] Traffic

The station has significantly surpassed its initial traffic expectations, from a moderate 35,000 passengers a day in 1983 to 80,000 passengers on 500 trains a day in 2001. Because of the increased traffic, the station was renovated from 1995-2001 to increase the number of platforms and alter the exterior.

Today, the station serves 14.7 million passengers a year.

[edit] Local transportation

Lyon Part-Dieu has direct access to Line B of the Lyon Metro, providing easy access to Lyon's centre ville (center city) and Vieux Lyon (historic district). Outside the station, the Metro's T1 and T3 trams also stop.