Marseille-Saint-Charles station

Marseille-Saint-Charles is the main railway station and intercity bus station of Marseille, France. It is the southern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway and western terminus of the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway.

Marseille-Saint-Charles
SNCF railway station
Main entrance
Location	Square Narvik 13232 Marseille Cedex 1
Owned by	SNCF
Line(s)	Paris–Marseille railway Marseille–Ventimiglia railway
Tracks	16
Connections	Bus terminal
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
IATA code	XRF
Traffic
Passengers (2017)	16.5 million
Services Preceding station   SNCF   Following station Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Paris-Lyon TGV Terminus Avignon TGV toward Bruxelles-Midi Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Frankfurt (Main) Hbf Avignon TGV toward Le Havre Avignon TGV toward Rennes Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Luxembourg Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Nantes Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Genève-Cornavin Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Madrid Atocha Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy Avignon TGV toward Nancy Toulon toward Nice Aix-en-Provence TGV toward Lille-Europe Terminus Thello Toulon toward Milano Centrale Arles toward Bordeaux Intercités Terminus Pas-des-Lanciers toward Narbonne TER Occitanie L3 Terminus TER PACA 1 Marseille-Blancarde toward Hyères TER PACA 6 Toulon toward Nice-Ville Arenc-Euroméditerranée toward Miramas TER PACA 7 Terminus Arenc-Euroméditerranée toward Avignon-Centre TER PACA 8 Miramas toward Lyon-Part-Dieu TER PACA 10 Picon-Busserine toward Pertuis TER PACA 12 Gardanne toward Briançon TER PACA 13 Eurostar Avignon TGV toward London St Pancras Eurostar Terminus
Location
Marseille-Saint-Charles Location in France Show map of France Marseille-Saint-Charles Location in Europe Show map of Europe

It opened on 8 January 1848, having been built for the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) on the land of the former Saint Charles Cemetery. The station is perched on top of a small hill and is linked to the city centre by a monumental set of stairs. Since 2001, the TGV has dramatically reduced the travel time between Marseille and Northern France; traffic has increased from 7.1 million annual passengers in 2000 to 16.5 million in 2017. This makes the station the eleventh busiest in France.

History

Construction of the Saint-Charles grand staircase

Saint-Charles grand staircase towards the city centre

Marseille-Saint-Charles was once a key stage on the sea voyage to Africa, the Middle East and the Far East, before the popularisation of flying. The station, originally isolated from the city, was equipped with a grand staircase, envisioned by Eugène Senès. His proposal was approved by the municipality on 3 July 1911, but delayed by World War I. Construction work started on 17 July 1923; the grand staircase was opened on 22 December 1925, before being formally inaugurated by President Gaston Doumergue on 24 April 1927. It is bordered by statues inspired by all the distant locations to which people sailed from Marseille's port.

Further expansion after World War II

Concourse of Saint-Charles

Saint-Charles currently has 14 terminal platforms and four tracks which run through, all equipped with 1500 V DC overhead wire. Tracks run in various directions, towards Ventimiglia, Italy, the north, Briançon, as well as the harbour station of La Joliette. A first extension was opened after World War II. The buildings on the north side had been destroyed and were rebuilt to house the administration offices of the SNCF. A new between level was opened to enhance the flow of passengers. To the rear of the station along Boulevard Voltaire was the goods yard which was used up until the end of the 1990s by the SNCF's road freight operations, Sernam.

On New Year's Eve 1983, a bomb at the station killed two people; Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as Carlos the Jackal, was later convicted for what was classified as a terrorist attack. At the end of the 1990s a redevelopment project began with the opening of the Marseille Metro and bus interchange as well as the arrival of the LGV Méditerranée.

Arrival of the TGV

Since 2001, new underground parking lots and a tunnel have allowed the station to be renewed. A new hall, the Halle Honnorat, was created housing shops and services. The displacement of the regional coach station on the other side of the station allowed a new pedestrian square to be created, between the station and the Aix-Marseille University site of Saint-Charles. New pedestrian spaces with cafe terraces have also been created atop the grand stairs.

On 1 October 2017, two women were killed in a knife attack at the train station before the perpetrator, an illegal immigrant from Tunisia, was shot dead by soldiers on patrol. His act was classified as jihadist terrorism by Europol.[1]

Train services

The station is served by the following services:

• High-speed services (TGV) Paris-Lyons Station - Valence TGV - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (TGV Bruxelles-France) Brussels-Midi - Lille Europe / Lille-Flandres - Charles de Gaulle Airport 2 TGV - Lyons Part-Dieu - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles - Toloun - Cannes - Nice Ville
• High-speed services (AVE) Madrid-Atocha - Zaragoza - Barcelona-Sants - Perpignan - Montpellier Saint Roch - Avignon TGV - Aix-en-Provence TGV mp airport - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (TGV-Alleo) Frankfurt-am-Mein Hbf - Strasbourg-Ville - Mulhouse-Ville - Lyons Part-Dieu - Avignon TGV - Aix-en-Provence TGV mp airport - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (TGV) Nancy - Strasbourg - Besançon-Franche-Comté-TGV - Dijon-Ville - Lyons Part-Dieu - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles - Cannes - Nice-Ville
• High-speed services (TGV Lyria) Geneva-Cornavin - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (TGV) Lyons Part-Dieu - Valence TGV Southern Rhône-Alps - Avignon TGV - Aix en Provence TGV mp airport - Marseille Saint Charles - Toulon - Les Arcs-Draguignan - Cannes - Nice-Ville
• High-speed services (TGV) Le Havre - Rouen-Rive Droite - Versailles-Chantiers - Lyons Part-Dieu - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (TGV) Rennes / Nantes - Le Mans - Lyons Part-Dieu - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (Thalys) Amsterdam-Centraal - Rotterdam-Centraal - Antwerp-Central - Brussels-Midi - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles (Summer Saturdays)
• High-speed services (Eurostar) London Saint Pancras Intl - Ashford Intl - (Lyons Part-Dieu) - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles (summer)
• EuroCity services (Thello) Marseille Saint Charles - Toulon - Cannes - Nice-Ville - Monaco - Ventimiglia - Genoa - Milan-Centrale
• Intercity services (Intercités) Bordeaux Saint Jean - Toulouse-Matabiau - Narbonne - Béziers - Montpellier Saint Roch - Nîmes - Arles - Marseille Saint Charles
• High-speed services (TGV Ouigo) Marne-la-Vallée / Lyons-Perrache - Lyon Saint-Exupéry - Avignon TGV - Marseille Saint Charles
• Regional intercity services Lyons Part-Dieu - Montelimar - Orange - Avignon-Centre - Arles - Miramas - Marseille Saint Charles
• Regional intercity services Portbou (Spain) - Perpignan - Béziers - Montpellier Saint Roch - Miramas - Vitrolles mp airport - Marseille Saint Charles
• Regional intercity services Briançon - Gap - Sisteron - Aix en Provence Ville - Marseille Saint Charles
• Regional intercity services Marseille Saint Charles - Toulon - Les Arcs-Draguignan St Raphael- Cannes - Antibes - Nice-Ville
• Regional services Avignon-Centre - Arles - Miramas - Vitrolles mp airport - Marseille Euromediterranee - Marseille Saint Charles
• Regional services Avignon TGV - Avignon Centre - Salon - Miramas - Vitrolles mp airport - Marseille Euromediterranee - Marseille Saint Charles
• Local services Miramas - Fos-sur-Mer - Carry-le-Rouet - Séon St Henry - Marseille Saint Charles
• Local services Pertuis - Aix-en-Provence Ville - Gardanne - Saint Antoine - Marseille Saint Charles
• Local services Marseille Saint Antoine - Marseille Saint Charles
• Local services Marseille Saint Charles - Marseille Blancarde - Aubagne - Toulon - (Hyères)
• Local services Marseille Saint Charles - Marseille Blancarde - La Barasse - Aubagne

References

1. "Two women die in Marseille knife attack". 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

External links

Media related to Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles at Wikimedia Commons

• Marseille-Saint-Charles station at "Gares & Connexions", the official website of SNCF (in French)
• Timetables TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (in French)