page_title: Réseau Express Régional
section_title: Stations
hierarchical_section_title: Réseau Express Régional / Stations
caption_attribution_description: English: People running to get in the RER E at Haussmann station. (author&#160;: Metropolitan)
context_page_description: The Réseau Express Régional, commonly abbreviated RER, is a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. The RER combines the operations and roles of a local city-centre underground rail system and suburbs-to-city-centre commuter rail. Inside the city centre, the RER functions much like the Métro, although it is faster, as it has fewer stops. This has made it a model for proposals to improve transit within other cities.
  The network consists of five lines: A, B, C, D and E. The network has 257 stations and has several connections with the Paris Métro within the City of Paris. The lines are identified by letters to avoid confusion with the Métro lines, which are identified by numbers. The network is still expanding: RER E, which opened in 1999, is planned for westward extension toward La Défense and Mantes-la-Jolie in two phases by 2020–2022.
context_section_description: Ten new stations have been built under the heart of Paris since the 1960s as part of the RER project. The six stations of Line A opened between 1969 and 1977 are:
  Nation (1969): deep construction at the Place de la Nation.
  Charles de Gaulle–Étoile (1970): deep construction at the Arc de Triomphe.
  La Défense (1970): near-surface construction beneath the site of the yet-to-be-built Grande Arche de la Défense, just outside the Paris city boundary.
  Auber (1971): deep construction near Gare Saint-Lazare.
  Châtelet–Les Halles (1977): near-surface construction on the site of the former marketplace, claimed in 2017 to be the largest underground station in Europe.
  Gare de Lyon (1977): near-surface construction beneath and alongside the main-line SNCF station.
  Some controversy followed the construction of the Line A. Using the model of the existing Métro, and unlike any other underground network in the world, engineers elected to build the three new deep stations (Étoile, Auber and Nation) as single monolithic halls with lateral platforms and no supporting pillars. A hybrid solution of adjacent halls was rejected on the grounds that it "completely sacrificed the architectural aspect" of the oeuvre. The scale in question was vast: the new stations cathédrales were up to three times longer, wider and taller than Métro stations, and hence 20 or 30 times more voluminous. Most importantly, unlike the Métro they were to be constructed deep underground. The decision turned out to be expensive: around 8 billion francs for the three stations, equivalent to €1.2 billion in 2005 terms, with the two-level Auber the costliest of the three. The comparison was obvious and unfavourable with London's Victoria line, a deep line of 22 km (14 mi) constructed during the same period using a two-tunnel approach at vastly lower cost. However, the three stations represent undeniable engineering feats and are noticeably less claustrophobic than traditional underground stations.
  Only two stations were inaugurated to complete Lines B, C and D:
  Gare du Nord (1982): near-surface construction on two levels.
  St-Michel - Notre-Dame (1988): deep construction on an existing stretch of the Line B between Luxembourg and Châtelet - Les Halles with two tunnels, common in other underground systems but unique in Paris. The station is situated on and built at the same time as the Luxembourg Châtelet tunnel.
  Two stations were added to the network as part of Line E in the 1990s. They are notable for their lavishly spacious deep construction, a technique not used since Auber. Although similar to the three 1960s "cathedral stations" of Line A, their passenger traffic has so far proved vastly lower.
  Magenta (1999): deep construction serving both Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est.
  Haussmann - Saint-Lazare (1999): deep construction serving Gare Saint-Lazare and Auber.
caption: Haussmann - Saint-Lazare on the RER E
exif: {}