Gare d'Austerlitz

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 XIIIe arrondissement. It is the start of the Paris–Bordeaux railway, which 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 operate from here to Madrid & Barcelona. They generally leave around 7.30pm local time and travel overnight arriving the next morning at their destinations.

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History

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 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

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

The following services currently call at Paris-Austerlitz:

Series Train Type Route Material Notes
Elipsos Night Train Paris-Austerlitz - Les Aubrais-Orléans - Limoges-Bénédictins - Perpignan - Figueres - Girona - Barcelona Estació de França Talgo
Elipsos Night Train Paris-Austerlitz - Les Aubrais-Orléans - Blois - Poitiers - Vitoria-Gasteiz - Burgos Rosa de Lima - Valladolid-Campo Grande - Madrid-Chamartín Talgo
Preceding station   SNCF   Following station
Terminus Intercités GBPS
toward Tours
Intercités GBPS
toward Montluçon
Terminus Téoz
toward Toulouse or Cerbère
Terminus Lunéa
toward Irun or Tarbes
Terminus Lunéa
Terminus Lunéa
toward Toulouse or Albi
Terminus Lunéa
toward Nice-Ville
Terminus Lunéa
Terminus Lunéa
Crest
toward Briançon
toward Orléans
TER Centre 21 Terminus
Dourdan
toward Tours
TER Centre 26
 

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

See also

External links