Gare de Châtelet – Les Halles

Châtelet - Les Halles
RER commuter rail station
Station entrance
Location	Paris, Île-de-France, France
Coordinates	48°51′40″N 2°20′49″E / 48.861°N 2.347°E
Owned by	RATP
Line(s)
Platforms	4
Tracks	7
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	9 December 1977
Services
Preceding station   RER   Following station Auber toward Saint Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut or Poissy Gare de Lyon toward Boissy-Saint-Léger or Marne-la-Vallée - Chessy Gare du Nord toward Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 – TGV or Mitry - Claye St-Michel – Notre-Dame toward Robinson or Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse Gare du Nord toward Creil Gare de Lyon toward Melun or Malesherbes Connections to other stations Paris Métro Louvre - Rivoli toward La Défense Transfer at: Châtelet Hôtel de Ville toward Château de Vincennes Châtelet toward Mairie de Montrouge Transfer at: Les Halles Étienne Marcel toward Porte de Clignancourt Pont Marie toward Villejuif - Louis Aragon or Mairie d'Ivry Transfer at: Châtelet Pont Neuf toward La Courneuve - 8 Mai 1945 Terminus Transfer at: Châtelet Hôtel de Ville toward Mairie des Lilas Pyramides toward Saint-Lazare Transfer at: Châtelet Gare de Lyon toward Olympiades

Châtelet – Les Halles is the major commuter train hub in Paris and the largest underground station in the world. It is directly connected with the Paris Métro stations Châtelet and Les Halles. Taken together they host 750,000 travellers per weekday (including interchanges), 493,000 for the RER only.^[1] It is named after the Châtelet monument and the former market of Les Halles.

RER lines on the lowest level

The station

The station is served by lines A, B, and D of the RER, and is therefore directly accessible from many stations in Île-de-France. It forms a large underground network with the Châtelet and Les Halles Métro stations. This network brings together three of the five RER lines and five Métro lines, and is the central node of the network of transit of the Ile-de-France metropolitan area. Every day, 750,000 travelers pass through Châtelet–Les Halles, including 493,000 just for the RER. At peak hours, the station can see 120 trains in just one hour.

Châtelet–Les Halles is also the station where the second stage of the RATP-managed IMAGE project was installed. It consists in 10 flat screens which provide local traffic information (next trains, traffic conditions, delays, etc.) from all carriers (RATP, SNCF, etc.) and will eventually replace the information systems of the individual carriers.

Station structure

Track direction of RER Lines A (red), B (blue), and D (green)

The tracks of the three RER lines are all oriented parallel in an east-west direction. The seven tracks are grouped on four platforms. Both central platforms are reserved for Line D. The benefit is that same-direction connections between RER A and RER B can be made across the same platform, while that RER D trains which terminate at Châtelet – Les Halles can use the centre track.

Line A’s track towards Gare de Lyon and Line B’s track to Saint-Michel are both located on the north platform.

Conversely, Line B to the Gare du Nord and Line A towards Auber are both located on the south platform.

While the tracks of Line B run parallel to those of Line D, the tracks of Line A are located on the north and south. On each platform, the trains travel in the same direction. For example, trains to Gare du Nord run east-west and those towards Saint-Michel run west-east.

Adjacent stations

The southern end of Châtelet – Les Halles is connected to the Métro station of Châtelet, and the northern end is connected to the Métro station of Les Halles. The walking distance from the RER lines at Châtelet – Les Halles to Métro Line 7 at the far end of Châtelet is about 750 metres.

• Châtelet
  • Métro Line 1
  • Métro Line 4
  • Métro Line 7
  • Métro Line 11
  • Métro Line 14
• Les Halles
  • Métro Line 4

Renovation

The main problem of the subway station is that its access necessarily flows through the Forum des Halles shopping mall. This restricts and slows down passenger flow, and could become a safety issue in an emergency evacuation at peak traffic time.

The redesign of Les Halles includes a major redevelopment of the transit station.^[2] Redevelopment includes:

• Creating new access from Rue des Halles / Rue Saint-Honoré (Saint-Honoré exit)^[3] in addition to the renovated Lescot entrance.
• Extension of the escalator system at the Berger Rambuteau entrance at levels -3 and -4, facilitating circulation between the mall and the subway station.
• Creating a direct access from Place Marguerite de Navarre towards Place du Châtelet, with 4 escalators, 2 stairways and 2 lifts, with direct access to levels -3 (interchange room) and -4 (RER and metro).
• Expansion and renovation of the subway station; demolition of the false ceiling, improved lighting and communication, and adding a side gallery.

The renovation is scheduled to begin in 2011; no major interruption of subway traffic is expected. The renovation is scheduled to be finished by 2016.^[4]

See also

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

References

1. http://www.ratp.fr/common/ressources/concertation_p1.pdf
2. STIF - Redevelopment of the hub RER Châtelet - Les Halles PDF (4.04 MB)(French)
3. Future exit Saint-Honoré to rue des Halles / rue Saint Honoré (rue de Rivoli) (French)
4. RATP - Pôle RER Châtelet - Les Halles (French)

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

Coordinates: 48°51′40″N 2°20′49″E / 48.861°N 2.347°E