European Railroad Discussion > Paris Stations: Gare de l’Est

Continuing my themed photo selections with a look at the third of four major Paris railway stations that I plan on featuring. Gare de l'Est serves the lines east out of Paris, including the new LGV Est between Paris and Strasbourg, with service continuing on into Germany. As a result, Gare de l'Est has some of the most colorful traffic of the four Paris TGV stations, despite serving only one high speed line. The station also has a colorful history, including serving as the departure point for the vaunted Orient Express luxury train to Istanbul. One of the lesser-known features of the 1849-built station is a bomb shelter beneath platforms 2 and 3, which was constructed by the French during WWII, and taken over by the Germans during the Nazi occupation. The shelter isn't regularly opened to the public, but is occasionally opened for special occasions.

Despite the name, which translates to East Station, Gare de l'Est is on the northern part of downtown, only a few blocks from Gare du Nord, or North Station. Many itineraries leverage that connection. When we traveled from Strasbourg to London a few years ago, the TGV from Strasbourg arrived at Gare de l'Est, and we walked to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar. Unlike a lot of the other stations, there are no train sheds per se at Gare de l'Est. All 29 stub-ended station tracks are connected by a covered concourse, and the individual tracks are covered by platform awnings. Two groups of tracks serve the LGV Est and the TER lines out into eastern France toward Mulhouse and Nance, while the center group of tracks serve local TransIlien and TER trains. There is an assortment of quick service restaurants and shops in the concourse area.

In addition to the TGV and local services, Gare de l'Est is the terminus for InterCity Express trains from Frankfurt and Munich, Germany, as well as EuroNight overnight services operated by Russian Rail to Moscow via Berlin and Warsaw. Interestingly, despite the proximity to Gare du Nord, there are no direct connections between the two stations except via the M4 Metro line underground. As well, the two stations don't serve any of the same regions.

Photo 1: Two TGV Reseau sets bracket a Duplex set on tracks 9, 8, and 7.

Photo 2: A Metro train to Gare du Nord and beyond at the underground station.

Photo 3: A soon to depart Velaro-D ICE-3 train.

More photos to come.

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Photo 4: A Reseau set and two TransIlien regional trains

Photo 6: I rode in from Strasbourg on the Reseau train at right, and while we were unloading, the ICE-3 at left arrived as well.

Photo 7: A Reseau and a EuroDuplex TGV, both quad current motors set up for international service.

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Photo 7: A relatively new Alstom Coradia in TER service

Photo 8: The lineup of TER and TransIlien trains on the center platforms

Photo 9: EuroDuplex 4714 rests during a walkabout on my last evening in France.

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Photo 10: Reseau set 513 is one of the domestic network sets (the international train sets all have 4xxx numbers)

Phtoo 11: The final train of my visit, OUIGO set 777, pulls into the track 30, the farthest track east on the station platform. This was the very last train that I  photographed on my last visit. 

I hope that you enjoyed exploring around Gare de l'Est with me. Of three visits to the station, the only chance I've had to really linger was a late night walkabout while staying at a hotel across the street on my last night in Paris. The station is a fairly busy one, and aside from that one deliberate trip, I've always had luggage and connections when I have visited. Hopefully next time, I will have a chance to photograph the outside of the station, without rain or darkness.

Thanks for reading!

jody

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And her's a shot of the actual station after we arrived on the Belmond Orient Express in 2018.

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Again , Jody that was excellent description and story of "Gare de'Est" and great pictures !!!:):):)

Jody

If I remember correctly, there is an underground passage at the far end of the platforms at Gare de l'Est that connects all the platforms. This makes scurrying from platform to platform a breeze. Sure beats having to walk the length of the platform to the station concourse and then back out again on a different platform.

WP17