Paris Est (or Gare de l'Est, "East station" in English) is one of the six large SNCF termini in Paris. It is in the 10th arrondissement, not far from the Gare du Nord, facing the Boulevard de Strasbourg, part of the north-south axis of Paris created by Baron Haussmann. It is one of the largest and the oldest railway stations in Paris, the western terminus of the Paris–Strasbourg railway and the Paris–Mulhouse railway.
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The Gare de l'Est was opened in 1849 by the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Paris à Strasbourg (the Paris-Strasbourg Railway Company) under the name "Strasbourg platform." This platform corresponds today with the hall for main-line trains, and was designed by the architect François Duquesney. It was renamed the "Gare de l'Est" in 1854, after the expansion of service to Mulhouse.
Renovations to the station followed in 1885 and 1900. In 1931 it was doubled in size, with the new part of the station built symmetrically with the old part. This transformation changed the surrounding neighborhood significantly.
At the top of the west façade of the Gare de l'Est is a statue by the sculptor Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire, representing the city of Strasbourg, while the east end of the station is crowned by a statue personifying Verdun, by Varenne. These two cities are important destinations serviced by Gare de l'Est.
On 4 October 1883, the Gare de l'Est saw the first departure of the Orient Express for Istanbul.
The Gare de l'Est is the terminus of a strategic railway network extending towards the eastern part of France, and it saw large mobilizations of French troops, most notably in 1914, at the beginning of World War I. In the main-line train hall, a monumental painting by Albert Herter, dating from 1926, illustrates the departure of these soldiers for the Western front.
SNCF started LGV Est Europeen services from the Gare de l'Est on 10 June 2007, with TGV and ICE services to north-eastern France, Luxembourg, southern Germany and Switzerland. Trains are initially planned to run at 320 km/h (198 mph), with the potential to run at 350 km/h (217 mph), cutting travel times by up to 2 hours.
The following services currently call at Paris-Est:
Preceding station | SNCF | Following station | ||
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Calais-Ville | Venice Simplon Orient Express London-Paris-Rome |
Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof |
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Terminus | Venice Simplon Orient Express Paris-Istanbul |
Keleti Pályaudvar |
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Vienna Westbahnhof |
Venice Simplon Orient Express Venice-Budapest-London |
Calais Ville | ||
Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof |
Venice Simplon Orient Express Venice-Prague-London |
Calais Ville | ||
Terminus | ICE 82 |
Forbach
toward Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
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ICE 83 |
toward München Hbf
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Terminus | TGV |
toward Sedan
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TGV |
toward Luxembourg
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TGV |
toward Zürich
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TGV |
toward Nancy-Ville
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TGV |
toward Bar-le-Duc
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Terminus | Intercités GBPE |
Nogent-sur-Seine
toward Mulhouse
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Terminus | TER Champagne-Ardenne 2 |
toward Saint-Dizier
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Terminus | Transilien |
toward Château-Thierry or La Ferté-Milon
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Transilien |
toward Meaux
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Transilien |
toward Coulommiers
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Transilien |
toward Provins
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