• With an estimated cost that climbs from 600 million to 1.5 billion euros, and 2 to 3 years late, the renovation project of the Gare du Nord has been abandoned, in favor of a new project of "50 million euros ”which remains to be defined, according to Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister for Transport.

  • Local residents and users would like passenger comfort and signage to be given priority in this new project.

  • Bruno Fortier, critical architecture of the initial project, recommends simplifying and refreshing the station to find more space inside.

“There will be an alternative project to find.

"The day after the announcement of the abandonment of the gigantic renovation project of the Gare du Nord, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister for Transport asked, this Wednesday, September 22, the SNCF to prepare a new project with more ambitions. modest.

Much more modest even, since it will have a budget "much smaller, [...] of the order of 50 million euros to make adjustments and meet the challenges of 2023 and 2024, ie the World Cup Rugby and the Olympics, ”said the minister to our colleagues from

RMC-BFM TV

.

Figures that slip

Initially costed at 600 million euros, the transformation project of the busiest station in Europe had gradually overflowed to arrive at an estimate of 1.5 billion euros.

Far from being the only "problem" in history, the deadline announced for the handing over of the work had been postponed from "two to three years" according to Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, "at the earliest in 2026", according to the SNCF.

The site, which had been prepared in collaboration with Ceetrus, a subsidiary of the Auchan group, was to triple the surface, by integrating new circuits for users and a huge shopping mall.

Questioned by the minister, for whom "there was no political consistency", the City of Paris called for "not to postpone once again the modernization and renovation of the station" which is an "absolute need ".

Via a press release from Emmanuel Grégoire, First Deputy to the City of Paris in charge of town planning, the city hall declared itself "available and willing to initiate a new project to renovate the Gare du Nord which is at the service of users. Daily ".

Local residents insist on the usefulness of the modifications

Some users are all the more concerned by the case as they will undergo the work. "It's a little relief, especially for those who live east of the station, near Faubourg Saint-Denis, already concerned with the Lariboisière hospital site", blows Sarah from the collective "Riverains Lariboisière Gare du Nord" ". If for the members of this group, the most important remains the exterior and the surroundings of the Gare du Nord, "a cesspool which is ashamed when one thinks of foreigners who disembark in the capital by this route", some things could be improved inside the station.

“Additional businesses or a performance hall are not useful,” says Sarah.

The collective expects more that the station ensures at least its role of vector: to facilitate the movement of the users, to ensure a comfortable wait for the passengers and especially to propose a clear and precise signage to avoid torticollis and treasure hunts to the travelers.

"What is beautiful in a station are the large interior spaces"

"A station must" pulsate ", be fluid," confirms Bruno Fortier, architect who signed a critical forum for the initial project in

Le Monde

in 2019. However, he poses a major downside to this ambition: "Ah, that price. (50 million euros), we won't be able to do much.

If the architect specifies that the sum "is not a straw", it seems a little fair to him to make important changes in the station.

According to him, one of the priorities would be to lighten the space of the station, rather than cluttering it up with shops, structures, etc.

: "What is beautiful in a station are the large interior spaces".

If the architect understands that the financial imperatives push the persons in charge to “fill” the spaces, he recommends all the same a refreshment of the station.

Refresh and enlighten

“There is work to be done on the frames and columns.

They are not fragile but they have never been refreshed ", explains Bruno Fortier who takes the example of the Bourse du Commerce - Pinault Collection in Paris," we think what we want, but we see that we can give back life in these 19th century spaces, to give them back their splendor.

"

Bruno Fortier also evokes another solution which would consist in bringing in natural light in the basements, “Saint-Lazare station style”, to illuminate the RER platforms.

But the requested budget would then happily exceed 50 million euros.

To sum up, the architect hopes that this plan B will go “in the direction of simplification”.

Paris

Paris: Towards a smaller-scale project for the transformation of the Gare du Nord

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A two-step renovation

Contacted by 20 Minutes, the Stations and connections branch of the SNCF cannot commit to the work that will be carried out.

At present, it is considering a renovation in two stages:

  • Before 2023, escalators will be added to facilitate movement inside the station.

    The accesses reserved for bicycles, taxis and VTC could be extended like the “Transmanche” terminal.

    Signage should also be reworked.

  • The second phase, scheduled for 2030 will be another version of the large project, which has just been abandoned, intended to de-saturate the busiest station in Europe.

  • SNCF

  • Transport

  • North Station

  • Saint-Lazare station

  • Paris