The new Montparnasse station will surprise you: brighter, more pleasant and (much) more commercial.
While the work on the Gare du Nord was stopped before it had even started, that of the building on the left bank of Paris was carried out while respecting both the budget (150 million euros of work with a public-private partnership) and deadlines (four years of work).
Rather than expanding the country's fourth station, where 77 million annual passengers pass - 90 million expected in 2030 -, the aim here was to make better use of existing spaces.
This implied modifying the paths, the signage, and relocating the waiting areas.
All this while increasing the number of shops available to travelers to or from the far west, the Center Val-de-Loire and the southwest.
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No sooner do you enter the building than you are struck by the impression of space and light.
The old blind walls have been replaced by large windows opening onto the city.
And in the large Vasarely hall, the yellowed plastic cover has been replaced by a technique of transparent air cushions that allow the sun to pass through.
The structure would not have supported the weight of a glass roof.
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“Aesthetic and functional”: Amaury Lombard the project manager for Gares & Connexions explains the improvements.
Additional escalators
To facilitate the flow of passengers, around fifteen additional escalators have been installed, as well as two panoramic elevators.
Access to the metro (lines 4, 6, 12 and 13) has been completely revised for arriving passengers, although the signage is not yet very clear.
The importance of the daily frequentation of the station - 220,000 people each day - forced the architects to dispatcher along the entire length of the hall of lost steps the 102 screens indicating the departures and arrivals of the trains, in order to avoid the crowds.
As the design and architecture agency Jouin Manku, which also participated in the creation of the new Air France lounge at Charles de Gaulle, explains: “
in a station we arrive, we leave, but we also expect a lot
”.
Read alsoGuided tour of the new Air France lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle
46 minutes average wait time
In fact, the average waiting time is 46 minutes in this station of which 65% of the traffic concerns the main lines, and only 35% what is called the “
commuter
”, that is to say the suburbs.
Fifteen waiting areas were thus fitted out.
The number of seats therefore increased from 450 to 1200. As for shops, there are 120 when they were only 57, and restaurants 40 when there were only 13. As much turnover in addition for the station, which will reduce the cost of what are called “
affected
”, that is to say what rail operators pay, in this case the SNCF, to use the platforms.
Indeed, Gares & Connections, the entity which manages 3000 stations in France, does not use at all the same system as Paris-airport which has set up a double cash register where the income from shops and restaurants does not benefit companies. aerial.
The Vasarely hall which gives access to the Jouin Manku hall
All this work was carried out without the station closing, which forced the construction companies to perform technical feats between midnight and 5 a.m.
The toilets still paying
There remains the question of the toilets.
Admittedly, their number has been increased but their access has remained chargeable - 1 euro entry.
Consolation, the entry ticket gives the right to a reduction of 90 centimes on a bottle of water invoiced at 1.90 euros.
Marlene Dolvek, Managing Director of Gares & Connections, has promised free toilets within two years for passengers with a train ticket.