Gare de Châtelet – Les Halles

Châtelet - Les Halles
RER
RER commuter rail station

Station entrance
Location Paris, Île-de-France, France
Coordinates 48°51′40″N 2°20′49″E / 48.861°N 2.347°E / 48.861; 2.347
Owned by RATP
Line(s)
  RER RER A
  RER RER B
  RER RER D
Platforms 4
Tracks 7
Other information
Fare zone 1
History
Opened 9 December 1977
Services
Preceding station   RER   Following station
RER RER A
RER RER B
toward Creil
RER RER D
toward Melun or Malesherbes
Connections to other stations
Paris Métro
toward La Défense
Paris Métro Paris Métro Line 1
Transfer at: Châtelet
Paris Métro Paris Métro Line 4
Transfer at: Les Halles
Paris Métro Paris Métro Line 7
Transfer at: Châtelet
TerminusParis Métro Paris Métro Line 11
Transfer at: Châtelet
toward Saint-Lazare
Paris Métro Paris Métro Line 14
Transfer at: Châtelet
toward Olympiades

Châtelet – Les Halles is the major commuter train hub in Paris and the largest underground station in the world. It is directly connected with the Paris Métro stations Châtelet and Les Halles. Taken together they host 750,000 travellers per weekday (including interchanges), 493,000 for the RER only.[1] It is named after the Châtelet monument and the former market of Les Halles.

RER lines on the lowest level

The station

The station is served by lines A, B, and D of the RER, and is therefore directly accessible from many stations in Île-de-France. It forms a large underground network with the Châtelet and Les Halles Métro stations. This network brings together three of the five RER lines and five Métro lines, and is the central node of the network of transit of the Ile-de-France metropolitan area. Every day, 750,000 travelers pass through Châtelet–Les Halles, including 493,000 just for the RER. At peak hours, the station can see 120 trains in just one hour.

Châtelet–Les Halles is also the station where the second stage of the RATP-managed IMAGE project was installed. It consists in 10 flat screens which provide local traffic information (next trains, traffic conditions, delays, etc.) from all carriers (RATP, SNCF, etc.) and will eventually replace the information systems of the individual carriers.

Station structure

Track direction of RER Lines A (red), B (blue), and D (green)

The tracks of the three RER lines are all oriented parallel in an east-west direction. The seven tracks are grouped on four platforms. Both central platforms are reserved for Line D. The benefit is that same-direction connections between RER A and RER B can be made across the same platform, while that RER D trains which terminate at Châtelet – Les Halles can use the centre track.

Line A’s track towards Gare de Lyon and Line B’s track to Saint-Michel are both located on the north platform.

Conversely, Line B to the Gare du Nord and Line A towards Auber are both located on the south platform.

While the tracks of Line B run parallel to those of Line D, the tracks of Line A are located on the north and south. On each platform, the trains travel in the same direction. For example, trains to Gare du Nord run east-west and those towards Saint-Michel run west-east.

Adjacent stations

The southern end of Châtelet – Les Halles is connected to the Métro station of Châtelet, and the northern end is connected to the Métro station of Les Halles. The walking distance from the RER lines at Châtelet – Les Halles to Métro Line 7 at the far end of Châtelet is about 750 metres.

Renovation

The main problem of the subway station is that its access necessarily flows through the Forum des Halles shopping mall. This restricts and slows down passenger flow, and could become a safety issue in an emergency evacuation at peak traffic time.

The redesign of Les Halles includes a major redevelopment of the transit station.[2] Redevelopment includes:

The renovation is scheduled to begin in 2011; no major interruption of subway traffic is expected. The renovation is scheduled to be finished by 2016.[4]

See also

References

  1. http://www.ratp.fr/common/ressources/concertation_p1.pdf
  2. "STIF - Redevelopment of the hub RER Châtelet - Les Halles" (PDF). (4.04 MB)(French)
  3. Future exit Saint-Honoré to rue des Halles / rue Saint Honoré (rue de Rivoli) (French)
  4. RATP - Pôle RER Châtelet - Les Halles (French)
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Coordinates: 48°51′40″N 2°20′49″E / 48.861°N 2.347°E / 48.861; 2.347

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