The railway from Paris to Lille is an important French 251-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the northern French city Lille. Branch lines offer connections to Belgium and Great Britain. As one of the first railway lines in France, it was opened on 20 June 1846. [2] The opening of the LGV Nord high speed line from Paris to Lille in 1993 has decreased its importance for passenger traffic.
The Paris–Lille railway begins at the Gare du Nord in Paris, running north for 6 km until Saint-Denis. From here, it climbs in northeastern direction at a constant 5 mm/km incline. Near Marly-la-Ville, it turns north and then northwest, and descends towards the river Oise. At Creil, the Oise is crossed. The line to Saint-Quentin and Brussels branches off at Creil.
The line leaves the Oise valley and continues north to the river Somme at Longueau near Amiens. Here the Longueau–Boulogne railway to the Gare d'Amiens and Boulogne-sur-Mer branches off to the west, and a line to Laon to the east. The line to Lille continues in northeastern direction, following the valley of the Somme until Corbie, and then the river Ancre until Miraumont, where the line turns north until it reaches Arras.
From Arras it follows the river Scarpe in eastern direction until Douai, where it turns northwest. After Ostricourt it turns north again, entering the agglomeration of Lille. After a total length of 251 km, it reaches its terminus Gare de Lille-Flandres.
The main stations on the Paris–Lille railway are:
The idea of linking France to Belgium and Great Britain was studied by the French Government as early as 1833. [3] By November 1842, the northern French cities Lille and Valenciennes were already connected to the Belgian railway network. [2] In July 1844 a law was passed that determined the route of the new railway from Paris to Lille. Exploitation of the line from Paris to Lille and several branch lines was granted to the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord. Owners of the CF du Nord were Hottinger, Laffitte, Blount and Baron de Rothschild as president. The railway line as well as the Parisian station was inaugurated in June 1846. [3]
The line originally passed through the Oise valley, along Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône and Persan. This way a steep climb and descent between Saint-Denis and Creil could be avoided. The arrival of stronger engines prompted the CF du Nord to construct a 19 km shorter line between Saint-Denis and Creil over the plateau, passing along Chantilly. This new section was opened on 10 May 1859. [4]
Since the opening of the LGV Nord high speed line between Paris and Lille in 1993, most long-distance passenger traffic has shifted away from the classical Paris–Lille line. It remains an important railway for freight traffic and regional passenger traffic.
The Paris–Lille railway is used by the following passenger services:
The Gare du Nord, officially Paris-Nord, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital and northern France via the Paris–Lille railway, as well as to international destinations in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Located in the northern part of Paris near the Gare de l'Est in the 10th arrondissement, the Gare du Nord offers connections with several urban transport lines, including Paris Métro, RER and buses. The majority of its passengers have been commuters travelling between the northern suburbs of Paris and outlying towns. It is the busiest railway station in Europe by total passenger numbers; in 2015, the Gare du Nord saw more than 700,000 passengers per day.
The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord, typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French 333-kilometre (207 mi)-long high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille.
The Chemins de fer du Nord, often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company, created in Paris, France, in September 1845. It was owned by, among others, de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, England, Charles Laffitte and Edward Blount, and Baron Jean–Henri Hottinguer. Baron James de Rothschild served as the company's president from its inception until his death in 1868.
Transilien Paris-Nord is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare du Nord in central Paris, and serve the north-west and north-east of Île-de-France region with Transilien lines H and K. Transilien services from Gare du Nord are part of the SNCF Gare du Nord rail network.
The Grande Ceinture line is a railway line round Paris 15 km from the Boulevard Périphérique. The decision to build it was taken at the end of the 19th century, to connect the radial lines linking the capital to the provinces and to relieve the existing Ligne de Petite Ceinture.
Épinay - Villetaneuse is a railway station located in the commune of Épinay-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis department, France. It is also adjacent to the communes of Montmagny and Deuil-la-Barre in Val d'Oise.
The Persan–Beaumont station is a railway station in Persan, France, near Beaumont-sur-Oise. It is at the junction of the Épinay-Villetaneuse–Le Tréport-Mers railway and the Pierrelaye–Creil railway. The station is served by trains of the Transilien line H and the TER Hauts-de-France.
Valmondois is a railway station located in the commune of Butry-sur-Oise, France. The station is served by Transilien H trains Creil - Pontoise and Paris - Saint-Leu-la-Forêt - Persan-Beaumont. The daily number of passengers was between 500 and 2,500 in 2002.
Champ de courses d'Enghien is a railway station in the commune of Soisy-sous-Montmorency, France. The station is served by Transilien H trains, on the lines from Paris to Persan-Beaumont and Pontoise. The daily number of passengers was between 2,500 and 7,500 in 2002. The station has two free parking sections with 433 spaces in total. The station is served every 15 minutes. It takes 15 to 19 minutes to reach Paris.
Enghien-les-Bains is a railway station in the commune of Enghien-les-Bains, France. The station is served by trains of the Transilien Paris Nord line H, from Paris to Pontoise and Persan-Beaumont. The daily number of passengers was between 7,500 and 15,000 in 2002.
La Barre – Ormesson is a railway station in the commune of Deuil-la-Barre, France. The station is served by Transilien H trains, on the lines from Paris to Persan-Beaumont and Pontoise. The daily number of passengers was between 2,500 and 7,500 in 2002.
Montdidier is a railway station located in the commune of Montdidier in the Somme department, France.
The railway from Paris to Marseille is an 862-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southern port city of Marseille, France, via Dijon and Lyon. The railway was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1856, when the final section through Lyon was opened. The opening of the LGV Sud-Est high speed line from Paris to Lyon in 1981, the LGV Rhône-Alpes in 1992 and the LGV Méditerranée in 2001 has decreased its importance for passenger traffic.
The railway from Paris to Bordeaux is an important French 584-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southwestern port city Bordeaux via Orléans and Tours. The railway was opened in several stages between 1840 and 1853, when the section from Poitiers to Angoulême was finished. The opening of the LGV Atlantique high speed line from Paris to Tours in 1989 has decreased the importance of this section of the line for passenger traffic; the opening of the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique in 2017 has seen all long distance passenger trains migrating to that line and leaving space for more regional and local trains, as well as freight trains.
The railway from Paris-Est to Strasbourg-Ville is a 493-kilometre-long railway line that connects Paris to Strasbourg via Châlons-en-Champagne and Nancy, France. Officially, the line does not start at the Gare de l'Est in Paris: the first 9 km until Noisy-le-Sec is shared with the railway from Paris to Mulhouse. The railway was opened in several stages between 1849 and 1852. The opening of the LGV Est high speed line from Paris to Baudrecourt in Lorraine in 2007 has decreased the importance of the section Paris–Sarrebourg for passenger traffic.
The railway from Creil to Jeumont is an important French 187-kilometre long railway line, that connects Creil, a northern suburb of Paris, to Jeumont on the Belgian border. It was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1855. The opening of the LGV Nord high speed line from Paris to Lille in 1993 has decreased its importance for passenger traffic.
The Longueau–Boulogne railway is a French railway which runs from a junction with the Paris-Lille railway at Longueau to the coastal port of Boulogne. A double track railway it is 171 kilometres long. Until the start of the Eurostar service from London to Paris in 1994 via LGV Nord it was the main route for the boat trains to Paris which met the ships carrying passengers from Great Britain. As of August 2011 the line is used by Intercités services from Paris to Boulogne, TGV services from Rang-du-Fliers via Calais-Fréthun to Lille-Europe and local TER Hauts-de-France services.
Villiers-le-Bel – Gonesse – Arnouville is a railway station in Arnouville, Essonne, Île-de-France, France. The station was opened in 1859 and is on the Paris–Lille railway. The station is served by the RER Line D, which is operated by SNCF. The station serves the communes of Arnouville, to the north Villiers-le-Bel and, to the east, Gonesse.
