La Défense station

La Défense (French pronunciation: ​[la defɑ̃s]) is a station of the Transilien (Réseau Saint-Lazare) suburban rail lines, RER, Paris Métro and tram. It is underneath the Grande Arche building in La Défense, the business district just west of Paris. The station is the western terminus of Paris Métro Line 1 and connects the RER Line A to the Metro Line 1 station La Défense–Grande Arche since 1992, the T2 tramway since 1994 and SNCF (Transilien) train station. It is also attached to a major shopping centre. There are 25.62 million entries and exits each year. SNCF began in April 1959, RER began on 19 January 1970.[1][2][3]

La Défense
Paris Métro, RER, Transilien & Tram station
Location	Puteaux, Arrondissement of Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine Île-de-France France
Coordinates	48.891852°N 2.238539°E
Owned by	SNCF & RATP Group
Operated by	SNCF & RATP Group
Line(s)
Platforms	2 (SNCF) / 2 (RATP Group) / 1 (Tramway)
Tracks	4 (SNCF) / 4 (RATP Group) / 2 (Tramway)
Other information
Station code	87382218 (SNCF) / 87758011 (RER A)
Fare zone	2 (RATP Group) / 3 (SNCF)
History
Opened	April 1959 (SNCF) 19 January 1970 (RATP Group)
Passengers
15,329,402 (2017) — (9th out of 303)
Services
Preceding station   Paris Métro   Following station Terminus Esplanade de La Défense toward Château de Vincennes RER Nanterre-Préfecture toward Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut or Poissy Charles de Gaulle–Étoile toward Boissy-Saint-Léger or Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy Transilien Courbevoie toward Paris-St.-Lazare Transilien Puteaux toward Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Versailles-RD Terminus Transilien Puteaux toward La Verrière

Highlights on the surface nearby include the monumental Grande Arche, skyscrapers that host the headquarters of important French and foreign companies, and works of urban art such as Le Pouce by César Baldaccini. From the central esplanade the Arc de Triomphe can be seen further down the Axe historique.

Until May 2004, this part of La Défense hosted an information centre of the European Union managed by the European Parliament.

Like the district it serves, the station takes its name from the 19th-century statue La Défense de Paris, commemorating the Franco-Prussian War.

Lines serving this station

• RER Line A (Paris Zone 1–2 tickets not valid)
• Line 1 (terminus, Paris Zone 1–2 tickets valid)
• Paris St Lazare Group III :
  • SNCF Gare Saint-Lazare – St Nom la Breteche–Forêt de Marly
  • SNCF Gare Saint-Lazare – Versailles Rive Droite
• SNCF La Défense – La Verrière
• Tram Line 2

There are four platforms in the Transilien station :

In the morning:

• Platforms 1 and 3 are used for PSL Group III lines to Paris
• Platform 2 is used for PSL Group III lines to Versailles Rive Droite / St Nom la Breteche – Forêt de Marly
• Platform 4 is used for La Défense – La Verrière line

In the afternoon:

• Platform 1 is used for PSL Group III lines to Paris
• Platforms 2 and 4 are used for PSL Group III lines to Versailles Rive Droite / St Nom la Breteche – Forêt de Marly
• Platform 3 is used for La Défense – La Verrière line

Station layout (Paris Métro)

G	Street Level	Exits/Entrances
M	Mezzanine	to Exits/Entrances passageway to RER/Transilien lines
Line 1 platforms	Platform 1	← termination platform
	Side platform with PSDs, doors will open on the left
	Side platform with PSDs, doors will open on the left
	Platform 2	→ toward Château de Vincennes (Esplanade de La Défense)→

• Note: These are two side platforms located some distance apart, as opposed to one island platform; the layout does not show the platforms accurately.

Gallery

• 
  RER A platforms
• 
  Transilien platforms
• 
  Paris Tramway Line 2 platform

La Défense RER platform panorama

Metro

• 
  Line 1, Exit D
• 
  MP 89 at La Défense (eastbound platform)
• 
  New automatic platform gates on eastbound platform

In popular culture

Buffet froid, the film, begins at La Défense station.[4][5]

See also

• List of stations of the Paris Métro
• List of stations of the Paris RER

References

1. "Gare de La Défense". Transilien.
2. "La Défense : la Grande Arche passe en sous-titre". MétroPole. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009 – via web.archive.org.
3. "Il y a cinquante ans la RATP mettait la Défense à quatre minutes de l'Etoile". defense-92.fr. 21 February 2020.
4. File:Gare RATP La Défense.JPG
5. "Buffet Froid (1979) - locations". IMDb.

Bibliography

• Roland, Gérard (2003). Stations de métro. D’Abbesses à Wagram. Éditions Bonneton.

External links

• La Défense station at Transilien, the official website of SNCF (in French)