# The busiest railway station and the largest subway underground complex in Europe



## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

A tour in big transportation place of Paris. 

1. *Gare du Nord* in off peak Hour








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7. I love these blue trains








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16. Eurostar train but not in Eurostar service and in reseau livrery.








17. Paris the city of love and TGV








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19. Thalys are the TGV for Bruxelle, Amsterdam and Cologne








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21. Eurostar








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39. Note that I have not visited the busiest section of Gare du Nord








40. RER E In direction of Haussman Saint Lazare.








41. The last stop *Haussmann Saint Lazare*








42. RER E underground stations are really huge








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51. Paris the city of love








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56. Welcome in the metro








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I had only visited a small part of the Saint Augustin-Saint Lazare-Haussmann Saint Lazare-Havre Coumartin-Auber-Opera a large underground complex formed by these stations.
Note that Haussman Saint Lazare and Auber are very huge RER stations. Auber only (not visited here) claim the title of the largest underground station in the world.


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## xlchris (Jun 23, 2006)

Nice pics, but I thought Berlin Hauptbahnof was the biggest right now!


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## ChrisLA (Sep 11, 2002)

My 1st experience in arriving in Paris via the eurostar last month. I thought it was big, but didn't seem as busy as what I've experienced at Grand Central, and Penn Station in New York.

Nice photos, by the way, thanks for my memories there. I didn't get any pictures at the station since I was too occupied with trying to get information on how to reach my hotel on the Metro. :nuts:


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

xlchrisij said:


> Nice pics, but I thought Berlin Hauptbahnof was the biggest right now!


You are maybe right.
I have never said Gare du Nord was the biggest, I said the busiest.

I have visited two place Gare du Nord and Saint Augustin-Saint Lazare-*Haussmann Saint Lazare-Havre Coumartin*-Auber-Opera, this is the biggest underground
_In blod visited in this thread_

ChrisLA : Of course, because you have not been in the busiest section of Gare du Nord : the suburban part and the RER B and D station. (not visited here), most commuters don't go in the main line platforms.


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## Manuel (Sep 11, 2002)

2 points : 

1. statistics

Can you provide breakdown figures for above ground patronage, RER and metro please Minato?
RER are running underground so as the metro lines and not in the main termini which is what a train station is.
Can you also provide figures for the size of the transport hub? and possible breakdown above and underground?


2. experience
From what I gathered reading you on this forum, you want to prove that paris is a big city. No need for that. You also seem gutted that it is not as busy as Tokyo the city you dream of, the city that you design on SC4 etc...

I suppose, reading that your photos are taken 'for the off peak" period, you want to show an image of what its like to be the "busiest" station...

From my experience, Gare du Nord is no way near the busiest .

Pen, Grand Central in NY, Liverpool street, Waterloo and Victoria in London and much busier with crowd control at busiest times and busy concourses with loads of people going in all directions.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

Manuel said:


> 2 points :
> 
> 1. statistics
> 
> ...


Figures:

Gare Du Nord: 180 million per year
Liverpool Street: 123 million per year
Waterloo Station: 62.39 million per year
Victoria Station: 48.05 million per year
Penn Station NY: ~109 million per year (4.3 million Amtrak)
Grand Central Station NY: ~45.62 million per year based on travellers alone as the other stations figures don't include visitors.

Gare Du Nord is the third busiest station in the world.

Of course underground travel is considered as otherwise Penn Station in NY would only have 4.3 million passengers per year for amtrak and only around 18 million for NJT and Liverpool street would have far less passengers as many are boarding the central line tube at Liverpool street. 

Though the metro and RER stations aren't directly under the termini they still count as they are interconnected. When calculating the passenger numbers for Bank and Monument stations in the UK it's very difficult as both stations are connected underground into a huge rabbit warren affair.

It might not be your view that Gare Du Nord is the busiest, however, stats in this case don't lie. 

Also, thanks Minato again for the photos! 

For everyones information, the largest passenger terminal (by size) in Europe is Frankfurt Hbf with 33 platforms (which also has an impressive 127.8 million passengers per year) closely followed by Leipzig Hbf which is actually larger by floor area, not by platform number (not passenger number either). Berlin Hbf judging by number of tracks doesn't feature anywhere near these two.


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## JP (Oct 26, 2002)

statistics, appearances, can't we simply enjoy something...as a station in Paris... ? 

Minato, do not try to make everything you took the largest, the busiest,... It's boring to read that kind of things, boring to read London ist the most, New-York is the most, Vienna is the most...and even for me, Paris is the most!

But thanks for showing the limits of statistics and appearances.
Even if both are clues, the statistics doesn't make the urban experience, apperance does not prove anything. 

BTW, thanks for your nice and interesting reporting, don't dirty it with pride, even if in some case it is justified.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

^^ I was merely posting statistics as Manuel requested them. Hope it didn't bore you too much! 

I agree, the photos were the main point of focus and as I said buried in my post - they're really good! Brought back many memories as I passed through here on the RER B from Charles De Gaulle Airport. I have to say that it was rather a confusing station! I got disorientated for a few minutes when I was trying to find the metro!


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

JP said:


> Minato, do not try to make everything you took the largest, the busiest,... It's boring to read that kind of things, boring to read London ist the most, New-York is the most, Vienna is the most...and even for me, Paris is the most!


If I choose this title it was for have comments. 
I am sure to have more comment with this title than with "Paris : Gare du Nord and Haussmann Saint Lazare stations".



Svartmetall, I know Tokyo stations stats and Gare is not the world third busiest station.


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## JP (Oct 26, 2002)

@Svartmetall
My words was not against your request. Not at all! You do not bore me!  Statistic fight bores me. 
And thanks for your message. It is now turning that thread into a good example to show what a statistic reveals, and what a picture shows. Neither one of them makes the experience. 

@Minato
Yes, "Paris Gare du Nord" as title could be less attractive, but maybe can you find another way to do. But, be cautions, it could after a serie of "most and -iest" irrate more than interest. It's a risk.


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## fettekatz (Oct 17, 2007)

When I was in Paris a few years ago I almost got lost in that station. I don't know about the size, but it's very confusing, crowded and tangled.


Minato, you catched that emotion I had very well


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## SA BOY (Mar 29, 2003)

cools pics, must have been taken during the 10min per year when there wasent a strike or riot


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## Alphaville (Nov 28, 2007)

The RER is amazing. There is the Paris Metro; then I was so shocked to find this "second metro" operating. The stations were so cavernous!!

The double-decker RER trains remind me of Sydney's CityRail fleet.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

SA BOY said:


> cools pics, must have been taken during the 10min per year when there wasent a strike or riot


Because all the French do is strike or riot of course. hno:

France is a fantastic country and actually if you look at the amount of workdays lost to strikes it is by no means the world leader.

Considering your locations consist of Sydney (Cronulla, Redfern, Macquarie Fields riots) and Durban(COSATU, FEDUSA, NACTU, CONSAWU trade unions always striking) I'd be careful what you say. By the way I happen to be a big fan of Sydney and my Girlfriend is South African so I have the utmost respect for both Australia and South Africa, but to make statements like that about France is bang out of line.


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## SA BOY (Mar 29, 2003)

mate it was said to get a laugh, chill and go outside and check if the sun can be seen in New Zealand this year.

see its a joke


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

SA BOY said:


> mate it was said to get a laugh, chill and go outside and check if the sun can be seen in New Zealand this year.
> 
> see its a joke


Fair enough, very hard to tell online though - text doesn't have facial expressions (well without emoticons anyway!)

Actually you are kinda right - no sun for me this year.


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## SA BOY (Mar 29, 2003)

no worries mate, Im only from South Africa so my humor is very dry, unlike Northampton, Drum roll please......


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## spongeg (May 1, 2006)

is that where amelie goes in the movie?


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## edubejar (Mar 16, 2003)

Don't know about the busiest in Europe but certainly one of the biggest and busiest. 

I wouldn't doubt it if Penn Station in NYC is bigger. It would seem to me that since NYC only has one Amtrak station it would concentrate all it's intercity travellers there. Paris has 6 (or 6 1/2 if you include Gare de Bercy near Gare de Lyon) SNCF (intercity) stations dedicated to specific destinations. NYC does have Grand Central Station which in many ways acts as a 2nd station but that is more of a commuter station.

Now London has 8 (I think) stations so that is more comparable to Paris as its stations are dedicated to specific destinations, too.

Gare du Nord, which Minato Ku features here, as well as most other intercity stations are also major hubs for RER and Transilien trains, both regional commuter trains, as well as metro connections. Combined with the intercity trains, they can lead to a lot of traffic, especially at rush hour, when it looks like it's going to explode.

I would say it's a very busy station.


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## marrio415 (Jun 18, 2006)

now here is question that hope someone can answer with londons main stations combined and paris's main stations combined what would the passenger figures amount be and which city would come out on top.Sorry if i went off topic but it would be nice to know


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## edubejar (Mar 16, 2003)

marrio415 said:


> now here is question that hope someone can answer with londons main stations combined and paris's main stations combined what would the passenger figures amount be and which city would come out on top.Sorry if i went off topic but it would be nice to know


That would be interesting to know as I figure either one could have the highest of the two. If someone said London, I'd believe it. If someone said Paris, I'd believe it too. The only thing that makes me lean more towards Paris is the fact that Paris is connected more to other European countries and has an extensive network of high-speed trains. London, on the other hand, is only connected to France and Belgium via the Eurostar (?). This would lead me to think that more people fly into London from other European countries unless they transfer in Paris Gare du Nord (in which case they are contributing to Paris' total number of passengers) or Brussels Midi for the Eurostar to London. I've taken many trains between Paris and various French and other European cities (Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and UK), some on direct overnighters, some requiring transfer at the border. But as far as regional commuter trains to main stations, I would not even begin to know.


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