Marseille-Saint-Charles station

Marseille-Saint-Charles (French: Gare de Marseille-Saint-Charles) is the main railway station and intercity bus station of Marseille, France. It is the southern end of the Paris–Marseille railway and western end of the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway.

It opened on 8 January 1848. It was built for the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée on the land where the Saint Charles Cemetery used to be. The station is on top of a small hill and is linked to the city centre by a 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.

New underground parking lots and a tunnel have allowed the station to be renewed. A new hall, the Halle Honnorat, was created for shops and services. A new pedestrian square was created, between the station and the Aix-Marseille University site of Saint-Charles. New pedestrian spaces with cafe terraces have also been created on top of the grand stairs. In December 2007, a €230 million modernisation was completed.News in Brief International Railway Journal January 2008 page 7

References

Category:Railway stations in France
Category:Buildings and structures in Marseille