Press packs
21/03/2012 : The new Paris Saint-Lazare station inauguration on 21 March
After 10 years, the Paris Saint-Lazare renovation works are coming to an end, with the station inauguration on 21 March. Passengers now have a new light-filled area at the centre of the station, which provides a hub for all modes of transport.
Press release: Paris Saint-Lazare station celebrates!
Press pack: 'The new Saint-Lazare station"
Slideshow of photos of the new station and the inauguration
Videos of the new Saint-Lazare station
Check out the 'Autrement' video of Saint-Lazare station!"
Plans for a station shopping area:
16/12/2011 : Work begins on the Montpellier Saint-Roch multimodal interchange hub
The planned Montpellier Saint-Roch Multimodal Interchange Hub will meet future regional and urban public transport needs. It is also part of the urban redevelopment project around the Nouveau Saint-Roch district.
14/12/2011 : AMF, RFF and Gares & Connexions are working together for the stations of tomorrow, and their surrounding areas
Jacques Pélissard, Chairman of the Association of French Mayors (AMF), Sophie Boissard, Managing Director of Gares & Connexions and Alain Quinet Deputy Managing Director of Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) today signed a charter with the aim of 'Working together for tomorrow's sustainable stations and their surrounding areas'.
01/12/2011 : 1 December 2011: Inauguration of the 2 new TGV Rhin-Rhône stations
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, and Guillaume Pepy, Chairman of the SNCF, inaugurated the two new stations, Besançon Franche-Comté TGV and Belfort-Montbéliard TGV on Thursday 1 December, in the presence of Marie-Guite Dufray, president of the France-Compté regional Council, numerous politicians involved in this project and Hubert du Mesnil, Chairman of Réseau Ferré de France (RFF).
21/11/2011 : Regus chosen to develop a network of workspaces in French stations.
On Monday 21 November, through its business unit Gares & Connexions and global leader in flexible workspaces, Regus, SNCF signed an agreement to introduce business centres in the stations of Mans, Bordeaux, Nancy, Amiens, Paris Nord, and Lille Flandres.
30/09/2011 : Bordeaux Saint-Jean station - a station for the city
The new areas in Bordeaux Saint-Jean station were opened on 30 September 2011, marking the completion of the renovation works that started in 2007.
The station's redevelopment is part of an urban programme designed to improve quality of life for travellers, passers-by, residents and people working in this expanding area of the city.
13/09/2011 : In-station cultural events
Gares & Connexions aims to make stations into places with their own life and vitality at the heart of the city that are better in touch with passengers. Opening stations up to cultural events and sharing them with as many people as possible is a key part of this aim. Gares & Connexions runs a range of cultural activities throughout the year to keep stations buzzing. Passengers can expect musical performances, concerts, paintings, photos, flashmobs, balls, and more in 2011!
21/07/2011 : The second 'Les gares au coeur de la ville durable' conference
The second 'Les gares au coeur de la ville durable' conference took place on Wednesday 22 June at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris, and focused on 'Governance of Stations: Stakeholders, Roles and Initial Results?'. It was organised by Gares & Connexions, in partnership with the French City Mayors' Association (AMGVF), the French Federation of Town Planning Offices (FNAU), the Transport Authorities Group (GART), the Public Transport Union (UTP), the Centre for Research into Networks, Transport, Urban Planning and Public Buildings (CERTU) and the French Regions' Association (ARF).
08/06/2011 : Opening of Amiens station
On 8 June 2011, Sophie Boissard, Executive Manager of Gares & Connexions, opened Amiens station following a renovation project in collaboration with the AREP from 2007 to 2011. The station's redevelopment was part of an urban programme designed to improve quality of life for travellers, passers-by, residents and people working in this expanding sector.
17/05/2011 : Gares & Connexions: 2 years on
Sophie Boissard, Executive Manager of Gares & Connexions, presented a progress report of Gares & Connexions' first two years of activity, as well as innovations to come, including signage, services and retail outlets, at a press conference given at the head office on Tuesday 17 May 2011.
14/03/2011 : 'Poetry in the station' in Rennes, Brest and Lorient
From 14 to 18 March, Rennes, Brest and Lorient stations are opening their doors to around thirty authors, publishers and literary associations, all of them well-versed in poetry, for the very first 'La poésie s'invite en gare' event. Passengers, passers-by and locals were offered an unprecedented opportunity to rub shoulders with authors, poets, writers and slam poets and to attend writing workshops, poetry reading and slam performances.
10/03/2011 : Stations Forums 2010
Download the proceedings of the Stations Forums in 2010.
Consult the Stations Forums programme for 2011
07/03/2011 : Urban cultures on display in Paris Nord station
From Monday 7 March to Sunday 10 April, Paris Nord station is hosting an exhibition of 20 portraits of urban artists from the Plaine Commune area.
16/12/2010 : In-station art in Bordeaux St Jean
Bordeaux is the home of Agence Gares & Connexions South-West, and for several months the concourse of Bordeaux St-Jean station is an exhibition space for a huge painting comprising 100 portraits by the painter Jean-Pierre Chebassier.
30/11/2010 : A new look for Paris-Lyon station: a gateway to the South-East in the heart of Paris
On 30 November 2010, Sophie Boissard, Executive Manager of Gares & Connexions, unveiled the plans for Paris Lyon station in 2012.
06/10/2010 : Behind the scenes of the Paris Saint-Lazare renovations
Work began in 2009 and will be completed in 2013.
30/09/2010 : Inauguration of the Lille-Flandres station bike park
On Thursday 30 September 2010, Martine Aubry and Guillaune Pepy opened a 550-space bike park in Lille. It has been built in the vehicle hire area of the car park next to Lille-Flandres station. It is available to cyclists using Transpole, TER and TGV public transport services and demonstrates the SNCF and Lille Métropole's increasing commitment to ecomobility.
20/09/2010 : Inauguration of La Baule Multimodal Transport Hub
The Multimodal Transport Hub is part of a larger project of urban renewal around the station, aiming to improve transport provision within the town, and it fulfils three major objectives of Gares & Connexions:
- Improving comfort and services for customers in the station
- Opening the station to the town by enhancing accessibility and ease of travel
- Promoting interchange between different modes of transport
For more information, go to http://www.cap-atlantique.fr
17/09/2010 : Inauguration of the Nîmes Multimodal Transport Hub
The Nîmes Multimodal Transport Hub was opened on 17 September. It is part of a larger programme of urban renewal to the south of the station aiming to improve transport provision within the town. The project was launched in 2001 and fulfils three major objectives:
- improving comfort and services for customers in the station.
- opening the station to the town by enhancing accessibility, ease of travel and transparency.
- promoting interchange between different modes of transport.
09/09/2010 : Visit to the Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station building site
Construction work on the Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station began in June 2009, and it's currently full steam ahead to complete the major work by the end of 2010.
31/08/2010 : Inauguration of La Roche sur Yon station
The in-house architecture department of Gares & Connexions, the 5th business unit of the SNCF, has renovated La Roche-sur-Yon station, with the support of its subsidiary, AREP.
09/07/2010 : Celebrating summer in French stations
Gares & Connexions manages and develops stations, and wants them to be warm and welcoming, a real living space for passengers. We have been organising seasonal activities since the beginning of summer in the 62 stations that are busiest over the holiday period.
03/07/2010 : Gares & Connexions supports photo festival in Arles
One ambition of our business unit is to bring culture into stations, and to share it with as many people as possible. With this in mind, Gares & Connexions is partnering with the 'Rencontres de la photographie' festival in Arles from 3 July to 19 September by displaying photos from 60 exhibitions in 6 stations for the duration of the festival: Marseille Saint-Charles, Nîmes, Avignon, Arles and Gare de Lyon in Paris.
30/06/2010 : Proceedings from the conference 'Les gares au coeur de la ville durable'
French City Mayors' Association and the French Federation of Town Planning Offices, in partnership with Gares & Connexions, created the 'Villes et Gares' working group in 2009, presided by André Rossinot.
On 30 June 2010, a conference on stations and sustainable cities brought together the reflections of this working group and proposed a roadmap of urban renewal around stations in metropolitan areas, places where transport and urban development projects come together.
21/05/2010 : Inauguration of the Bellegarde-sur-Valserine Interchange Hub
After 24 months of work, the Bellegarde-sur-Valserine Interchange Hub is now up and running. It is a real meeting place for different transport modes, and is part of a larger programme to modernise the Haut-Bugey line and continue improving passenger comfort and service.
13/04/2010 : Gares & Connexions celebrates its first birthday
At 9 am on Tuesday 13 April 2010, Sophie Boissard, Executive Manager of Gares & Connexions gave a progress report from the headquarters of the 5th SNCF business unit on the occasion of its first birthday. She was accompanied by Jean-Marie Duthilleul, Chairman of the AREP Group and Sylvie Latour, Executive Manager of the A2C Group.
Gares & Connexions press pack
Gares & Connexions was founded in April 2009, in order to play a role in supporting ever-increasing passenger and goods traffic and the growth of public transport and to prepare for the new era of competition on the railways as from January 2010. The new business unit manages, operates and develops the 3,000 railway stations up and down France.
21/01/2010 : Reims Station gets a new look
Eric RADENAC, Regional Manager of SNCF Champagne-Ardenne, and Sophie BOISSARD, Executive Manager of Gares & Connexions, today inaugurated the new 'Clairmarais' station entrance, with Adeline HAZAN, Mayor of Reims, in attendance. This marks the completion of renovation work on Reims Station frontage.
22/12/2009 : A multimodal interchange at Montpellier Saint-Roch by late 2013
By late 2013, the people of Languedoc-Roussillon will have a genuine multimodal interchange, in the heart of the neighbourhood of Nouveau Saint-Roch in Montpellier and central to existing regional passenger rail services.
25/11/2009 : Le Mans 2009, "Les Gares" district, a multimodal interchange hub
After the first TGV services arrived here in 1989, the new tram system, launched in November 2007, has again placed the "Les Gares" district of Le Mans in the spotlight as a place for significant urban and economic exchanges. In 2007, the station went multimodal, as a train-to-tram interchange. In 2008, a covered short-stay car park and a new ticket office were opened to passengers. The next step in July 2009 was the opening of the coach station, with lifts to the railway platforms added in September 2009.
15/10/2009 : Construction work begins at Belfort - Montbéliard TGV Station
Hot on the heels of Besançon Franche-Comté TGV Station, where work started on 30 April 2009, construction is now beginning at Belfort - Montbéliard TGV Station. It will open in December 2011, when the TGV Rhin-Rhône service launches.
18/06/2009 : Inauguration of Dijon Ville Station
After a year of design studies and two years of construction work, Dijon Ville Station has been turned into a benchmark public transport interchange, where it is easy for passengers to change between transport services. End-to-end travel solutions are now a reality!
13/05/2009 : St-Lazare renovation project
On 13 May 2009, Sophie Boissard, Executive Manager of Gares & Connexions, kicked off the third stage of modernisation and renovation of Saint-Lazare station - a project named 'Coeur St-Lazare 2009-2011'. It's a massive three-year construction project to transform Saint-Lazare Station into a new modern space, focusing on creating comfort, ease-of-use, accessibility and an intermodal transport interchange.
30/04/2009 : Construction work kicks off at Besançon Franche-Comté TGV Station
The all-new Besançon Franche-Comté TGV Station, located between Auxon-Dessus and Auxon-Dessous, to the north of Besançon in the Doubs département, is being built as part of the new TGV Rhin-Rhône service, which is due to launch in 2011.
