John_Hughes Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Does anyone have a projected completion date for the (very necessary!) rebuilding work at the Gare d'Austerlitz? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseHead Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 According to SNCF, it's 2020 - make of that what you will ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 According to SNCF, it's 2020 - make of that what you will ... Mon dieu! C'est incroyable! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LooseHead Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 You're probably right. Bets on 2025? 2030? But to be fair, they do say it's "un des grands projets de ... Gares & Connexions", and in conjunction with the city of Paris it includes housing, offices, community facilities and shops in the Salpêtrière neighbourhood. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhBBob Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 My Son has 20/20 vision - perhaps the SNCF missed off the forward slash* *don't you just love that school-boy mischievous expression, now perfectly legal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 8, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 8, 2015 Austerlitz is pretty scruffy with poor connections on to other transport modes. It has never really been right since the tracks (barrier line) were moved back to accommodate the lines through to Gare d'Orsay. The way that Metro Line 5 just bashes its way through the walls is pretty strange too. Of course the station has also lost a lot of its former traffic due to competition from TGVs at Gare de Lyon and at Montparnasse serving destinations that were formerly served mainly from Austerlitz (Narbonne, Perpignan, Toulouse, Bordeaux etc). Is there a website giving full details of what they are proposing to do? Wikipedia mentions extra platforms and diversion of TGV services there from Lyon and Montparnasse. Sounds as though passengers could get very confused. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhBBob Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Their website at http://www.gares-en-mouvement.com/fr/frpaz/travaux/ simply mentions that they are 're-arranging platforms 8 to 13 with train traffic running only on 1-7 and 14-21'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Their website at http://www.gares-en-mouvement.com/fr/frpaz/travaux/ simply mentions that they are 're-arranging platforms 8 to 13 with train traffic running only on 1-7 and 14-21'. It's certainly a total mess at the moment - reminds me a bit of New Street during the 1960s rebuilding, except that the catering was better in Brum! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Better than French catering?????????? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivegreen Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 There was talk some time ago (years, rather than months, that is) in the French railway press of Austerlitz possibly becoming an alternative or extra TGV terminus to relieve the Gares de Lyon and Montparnasse. This seems to have been quietly dropped - if it was not simply journalistic optimism in the first place. Does anyone know any more about it? Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Better than French catering?????????? When the French eat well, they eat very well, and give themselves enough time to do so - I still have very fond memories of a lovely little place at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne which looked very ordinary and modest from the outside but where the meals were simply superb and slow. But when they just grab a snack, it's often a different story! The trolley service on French trains is really about the same as on, say, FGW. In my experience, at least ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 When the French eat well, they eat very well, and give themselves enough time to do so - I still have very fond memories of a lovely little place at Aubeterre-sur-Dronne which looked very ordinary and modest from the outside but where the meals were simply superb and slow. But when they just grab a snack, it's often a different story! The trolley service on French trains is really about the same as on, say, FGW. In my experience, at least ;-) I wouldn't say it was even as good as FGW's offerings.... Regarding the future use of Austerlitz; at present, Bercy, the former Motorail station has taken almost all the non-TGV services. Whilst Austerlitz might seem a potential alternative terminus for perhaps the Bourbonnais (Clermont- Ferrand) services, there are no northbound direct connections between the former PLM and PO lines. There is potential for a link near Juvisy, but whether the will exists to build one, I wouldn't like to guess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Austerlitz is pretty scruffy with poor connections on to other transport modes. It has never really been right since the tracks (barrier line) were moved back to accommodate the lines through to Gare d'Orsay. The way that Metro Line 5 just bashes its way through the walls is pretty strange too. But that's exactly why I love Austerlitz! There is (or was) something of "the station that time forgot" about the place. Usually there were some vintage electrics to be found on pilot duties and, on an early visit, one of the last 2D2-5538 "old ladies" - one of my favourite types. Arriving by Metro is just sublime... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 But that's exactly why I love Austerlitz! There is (or was) something of "the station that time forgot" about the place. Usually there were some vintage electrics to be found on pilot duties and, on an early visit, one of the last 2D2-5538 "old ladies" - one of my favourite types. Arriving by Metro is just sublime... 'Sublime' isn't a word I'd normally associate with the Paris Metro! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 13, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 13, 2015 'Sublime' isn't a word I'd normally associate with the Paris Metro! I'm with Eddie on that. Paris Metro is just so much more interesting than London Underground as well as being generally more convenient and much cheaper to use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 13, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 13, 2015 I wouldn't say it was even as good as FGW's offerings.... Regarding the future use of Austerlitz; at present, Bercy, the former Motorail station has taken almost all the non-TGV services. Whilst Austerlitz might seem a potential alternative terminus for perhaps the Bourbonnais (Clermont- Ferrand) services, there are no northbound direct connections between the former PLM and PO lines. There is potential for a link near Juvisy, but whether the will exists to build one, I wouldn't like to guess. It would not be difficult to create a link at Juvisy. But neither would it be very useful as it would go onto the ex-PLM route past the point at which TGVs branch off towards the LGV. Any TGVs using Austerlitz would need to use new junctions onto the "ring" line that is currently used by Nantes - Lyon TGVs to the south of Paris. It would seem more sensible for TGVs to use Bercy and the loco-hauled trains currently using Bercy to be diverted to the rebuilt/expanded Austerlitz. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 'Sublime' isn't a word I'd normally associate with the Paris Metro! Whereas you could always try "Unter den Linden" to describe the Berlin U-bahn? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 13, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 13, 2015 Whereas you could always try "Unter den Linden" to describe the Berlin U-bahn? Took me a moment to understand that. I have not done crosswords for some years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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