Luxembourg railway station

This article is about the railway station in Luxembourg City. For the railway station in Brussels, see Brussels-Luxembourg Station. For the RER station in Paris, see Luxembourg (Paris RER). For the station district in Luxembourg City, see Gare, Luxembourg.

Coordinates: 49°36′00″N 06°08′02″E / 49.60000°N 6.13389°E / 49.60000; 6.13389

The station's facade at Place de la Gare is in the traditional Moselle Baroque Revival style.
Luxembourg station is served by trains from all three neighbouring countries. In this view are a French TGV run by the SNCF and, in the background, a Belgian train can be seen.

Luxembourg railway station (Luxembourgish: Gare Lëtzebuerg, French: Gare de Luxembourg, German: Bahnhof Luxemburg) is the main railway station serving Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is operated by Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, the state-owned railway company.

80 000 passengers use this station every day.

It is the hub of Luxembourg's domestic railway network, serving as a point of call on all but one of Luxembourg's railway lines (the exception being Line 80, which only stops at one station in Luxembourg). It also functions as the country's international railway hub, with services to all the surrounding countries: Belgium, France, and Germany. Since June 2007, the LGV Est has connected the station to the French TGV network.

The station is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the city centre (Ville Haute), to the south of the River Pétrusse. The station gives its name to Gare, one of the Quarters of Luxembourg City.

History

Aerial view of the railway station's Place de la Gare and the quarter around Avenue de la Liberté

The original railway station was built entirely from timber, and was opened in 1859. The position of the new station on the south bank of the Pétrusse, away from the original built-up area of the city, was on account of Luxembourg's role as a German Confederation fortress. The first connection to the city proper came in 1861, with the construction of the Passerelle viaduct.[1] After the 1867 Treaty of London, the fortifications were demolished, leading to the expansion of the city around the station.

The old wooden station was replaced by the modern building between 1907 and 1913,[1] at the height of an economic boom, fuelled by iron from the Red Lands. The new station was designed by a trio of German architects (Rüdell, Jüsgen, and Scheuffel) in the Moselle Baroque Revival style that dominates Luxembourg's major public buildings.[1] The station lies at the end of the Avenue de la Liberté, one of the city's major thoroughfares, and its imposing clock tower can be seen from a considerable distance.[1]

Modernisation work

Since 2006, under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport, Luxembourg station has been undergoing major renovation work which, by 2009, had already resulted in new ticketing and sales facilities inside the main hall, widening of the platforms, new lifts and a new passenger subway. Future work will include renewal of the overhead electrical wiring, installation of two platform escalators, a new entrance porch and a redesigned forecourt. In 2011, work will start on a glass passenger hall and on a four-storey car park, to be completed in 2012.[2]

Train services

The station is served by the following services:

Preceding station   Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois   Following station
Arlon
toward Brussels Hbf
EuroCity
toward Basel
TerminusLine 10
toward Gouvy, Wiltz, or Diekirch
Line 30
toward Schweich
Line 50
toward Arlon
Line 60
toward Thionville, Volmerange-les-Mines,
Rumelange, Audun-le-Tiche, or Pétange
Line 70
toward Athus or Longuyon
Preceding station   SNCF   Following station
toward Paris-Est
TGVTerminus
TerminusIntercités
night trains
toward Nice or Portbou
toward Nancy-Ville
TER Lorraine 1Terminus
Preceding station   Deutsche Bahn   Following station
TerminusIC/EC 35
Wasserbillig
towards Emden Außenhafen or Norddeich Mole
TerminusRE
Wasserbillig
toward Trier Hbf
Preceding station   NMBS/SNCB   Following station
Arlon
IC J
IC "des Ardennes" & Luxembourg
Terminus
toward Liers
IR mTerminus

Luxembourg station has some voltage-switchable tracks for Line 50 to Arlon, which is electrified with the Belgian voltage of 3kV DC.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Architectural tour of the railway station district" (PDF). Luxembourg City Tourism Office. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
  2. ↑ L’avenir des transports en commun sur de bons rails. Gouvernement du Grand Duché de Luxembourg. Retrieved 10 March 2009.

See also

External links

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