SNCF on Friday inaugurated the "
new
" Gare Montparnasse in Paris, renovated after more than four years of work as part of a partnership with the promoter Altarea, at no additional cost unlike the modernization project of the Gare du Nord canceled on Tuesday.
"
We have invested two-thirds of the 150 million works that were necessary, and over the long term we will pay Gares et Connexions a minimum of 340 million euros in royalties over the duration of the concession
", which is 30 years , noted Ludovic Castillo, president of Altarea Commerce.
Read also Gare du Nord: an unexpected failure for Ceetrus, the real estate company of Auchan
The renovation of the fourth station in France was accompanied by a doubling of the area devoted to shops, restaurants and services, thanks to a reorganization of space.
At the same time, passenger flows have been improved.
A strong idea was also to open up the dark building, opened in 1969, to the city and bring in more light.
Two frescoes by Victor Vasarely have been refreshed and enhanced.
“
Our only wish is to make people want to take the train. Finally, to make you want to take the train, the first step is the station. And it's still better if the first step is pleasant,
”noted the general manager of SNCF Gares et Connexions, Marlène Dolveck. The Parisian stations of Saint-Lazare and the East, recently renovated with shops, are popular with travelers, she noted.
Marlène Dolveck refused on Friday to discuss the case of the Gare du Nord, another Parisian station whose SNCF Gares et Connexions wanted to entrust the renovation to a private developer - in this case Ceetrus, the Auchan property company - and which she terminated the concession contract on Tuesday, citing escalating costs, delays and operating difficulties.
“We
will have to provide feedback.
What I can say is that in Montparnasse it is a success,
”she said.
Read also Gare du Nord: the flop of the construction site of the century
"
The SNCF mentioned the term industrial disaster to describe what had happened Gare du Nord, it is obviously unfortunate because we need to redevelop the Gare du Nord
", observed the Minister for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, for whom it will be necessary "
anyway to relaunch a project
" of magnitude in the coming years.
The minister's speech during the inauguration was disrupted by sirens and whistles from CGT Cheminots activists, to whom SNCF CEO Jean-Pierre Farandou immediately went to speak, missing much of the ceremony.