Épinay–Villetaneuse station

Épinay - Villetaneuse is a railway station located in the commune of Épinay-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis department, France.[1] It is also adjacent to the communes of Montmagny and Deuil-la-Barre in Val d'Oise.[2]

Épinay - Villetaneuse
Transilien & Tramway station
Location	Route de Saint Leu Épinay-sur-Seine Rue des Presles Deuil-la-Barre  France
Coordinates	48.95828°N 2.32827°E / 48.95828; 2.32827
Owned by	SNCF
Operated by	SNCF & Transkeo
Line(s)	Transilien
Platforms	5
Tracks	6
Other information
Station code	8727112 / 8769730
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	1880 (1880)
Services
Preceding station   Transilien   Following station Saint-Denis toward Paris-Nord Transilien La Barre-Ormesson toward Pontoise or Persan–Beaumont Transilien Deuil-Montmagny toward Persan–Beaumont or Luzarches

Despite its name, the Gare d'Épinay-Villetaneuse is located approximately 1 km from Villetaneuse. Nonetheless, it is the closest station to the Paris 13 University campus in Villetaneuse.

The station is at the junction of two lines:

• Paris - Persan - Beauvais - Le Tréport-Mers
• Paris - Ermont - Pontoise

It is at the 9.040 kilometre point on the Saint-Denis - Pontoise line, an older section of the Paris - Lille route which was superseded in 1859 by the more direct line from Saint-Denis to Creil. There was previously a military connection between this line and the Grande Ceinture line. The SA HLM SICF-La Sablière, a public housing subsidiary of the SNCF, has requisitioned the land and built housing blocks. In 2000, the number of passengers per day was between 7,500 and 15,000. The station has two free carparks with 100 and 177 spaces.[3]

History

1916 view of the station platforms, now the Transilien station

Although the stop appears to have been created in 1850,[4] the station was constructed only in 1880, as the Gare d'Épinay, by the Chemins de fer du Nord with appropriate architecture for a junction station, as at Eu. It was renamed Gare d'Épinay-Villetaneuse in 1908 when the new Gare d'Épinay-sur-Seine was built on what was then called the Les Grésillons line (now incorporated into the North Branch of the RER C).

The Nord Company opened the line between Épinay and Persan-Beaumont via Montsoult in 1877 and the Montsoult - Luzarches branch in 1880.[5]

Former Grande Ceinture line station, in use as the Café-Restaurant de la Gare, in a postcard sent in 1917

The Grande Ceinture line had its own station in the same location as that of the Nord Company. This very soon fell into disuse, since it was occupied by the station café at the beginning of the 20th century, and it became completely unnecessary to the railway when passenger traffic on the Grande Ceinture was terminated in 1939. It was demolished in the 1990s.

The Grande Ceinture line at Épinay — Villetaneuse

Today

The Persan-Beaumont line and the Valmondois line separate immediately after the station building. The station is served by Transilien trains on the H line.

In approximately 2014, the station is to be connected to the North Tangent.

References

1. Épinay is also served by the Gare d'Épinay-sur-Seine.
2. Montmagny is also served by the Gare de Deuil-Montmagny and Deuil-la Barre by the Gare de La Barre-Ormesson and Gare de Deuil-Montmagny.
3. STIF - Atlas des transports publics Île-de-France (in French) Public Transportation Atlas of the Île-de-France
4. "Villetaneuse" in État des communes du département de la Seine à la fin du XIXe siècle, Paris: Montévrain, 1896 (in French).
5. Michel Rival, Le Refoulons, ou, Le chemin de fer d'Enghien à Montmorency: petite histoire d'une grande ligne, 1866-1954, Paris: Valhermeil, 1989, ISBN 2-905684-20-8, p. 248. (in French)

External links

• Épinay–Villetaneuse station at Transilien, the official website of SNCF (in French)