Paris major engineering works 8/9/15/16 September

[CMS]

Some oddities and rare moves if any of you are in Paris over these dates.

There are major engineering works at Pierrefitte-Stains in northern Paris and also at Longueau, meaning that only half of the tracks are available for trains to enter Gare du Nord. Meaning that:

- Eurostar have cancelled about 10 trains per day in each direction between London and Paris and there are 1 or 2 extras to/from Lille/Brussels instead. The remaining trains have journey times increased by about 45 mins.
- Thalys have cancelled a handful of trains and will not be offering their nanny service on these dates. Trains have been scheduled an extra hour between Paris and Brussels.
- Eurostar, Thalys and some TGVs will run via Longueau and join the LGV in Picardy instead of Paris.

- Paris-Lille/Tourcoing TGVs will start from Gare de Lyon instead of Gare du Nord and run non-stop via a few junctions in southern Paris and Marne-la-Vallée.
- Other TGVs northbound from Paris will follow the same diversions as Thalys.

- Most RER D trains are starting short at Gare du Nord, doing some rare reversals in the low level platforms. Fewer trains will continue to start from Creil/northern Paris.

 

[Please Explain]

Interesting.. What can we expect Intercités wise to/from Nord during this??

 

[CMS]

Interesting.. What can we expect Intercités wise to/from Nord during this??

The TER and Intercités trains will be running normally, apart from some which are replaced by buses between St Just and Amiens.

 

[Fred43123]

Looking at the map, I'm assuming this is the correct route it's possibly doing? The Thalys/Eurostars etc.?

http://raildar.fr/osrm/?fromto=50.836462,4.336681,49.966239,2.594147,48.880409,2.354679 - This is a Thalys journey.

I'm looking at travelling from London to Lille, then Lille to Gare De Lyon, transfer across to Gare Du Nord for a Thalys to Brussels, then Eurostar back to London.

Does sound unusual but a way of clearing some parts of the classic lines! Also I don't think there's a direct service from Marne-La-Vallée to Gare De Lyon, think that loops is just used for Est services to Rennes, Nantes etc.

 

[CMS]

Looking at the map, I'm assuming this is the correct route it's possibly doing? The Thalys/Eurostars etc.?

http://raildar.fr/osrm/?fromto=50.836462,4.336681,49.966239,2.594147,48.880409,2.354679 - This is a Thalys journey.

I'm looking at travelling from London to Lille, then Lille to Gare De Lyon, transfer across to Gare Du Nord for a Thalys to Brussels, then Eurostar back to London.

Does sound unusual but a way of clearing some parts of the classic lines! Also I don't think there's a direct service from Marne-La-Vallée to Gare De Lyon, think that loops is just used for Est services to Rennes, Nantes etc.

Yes, that looks like the diversionary route to me. And I think you're right about the south of Paris loops, but the traffic on these is mostly OUIGOs now. There is also the daily Marseille-Le Havre, which although it makes a parallel move to these trains, covers many odd bits of track around the south of Paris.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Do they still have that link line that went between Nord and Lyon, in the days of boat trains and through carriages from Boulogne and Calais to the South of France, Italy and Switzerland etc? I have a feeling it may no longer be there as there seems to be an old elevated railway not far from Gare de Lyon, when going by bus from there to Nord?

 

[CMS]

Do they still have that link line that went between Nord and Lyon, in the days of boat trains and through carriages from Boulogne and Calais to the South of France, Italy and Switzerland etc? I have a feeling it may no longer be there as there seems to be an old elevated railway not far from Gare de Lyon, when going by bus from there to Nord?

Yes, it's called the Grande Ceinture, however it's use is purely freight and tram-trains now (although currently they don't use the same tracks, even on shared sections). The line you refer to, which is the one you see near Gare de Lyon is an unrelated section of track, which was used before the creation of the RER A to terminate trains at Bastille.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Yes, it's called the Grande Ceinture, however it's use is purely freight and tram-trains now (although currently they don't use the same tracks, even on shared sections). The line you refer to, which is the one you see near Gare de Lyon is an unrelated section of track, which was used before the creation of the RER A to terminate trains at Bastille.

Ok, Many thanks for that info.

 

[MarcVD]

As far as I know, the transit of direct cars between gare du Nord and gare de Lyon took place on the Petite Ceinture, which is now out of action. This happened till 1980 or so. Using the grande ceinture would have been a very large détour.

 

[CMS]

As far as I know, the transit of direct cars between gare du Nord and gare de Lyon took place on the Petite Ceinture, which is now out of action. This happened till 1980 or so. Using the grande ceinture would have been a very large détour.

Ah yes, you’re most probably right. To my knowledge, the Petite Centure had been closed operationally for decades, maybe not?! I know that before LGV Interconnexion Est was used, cross-country trains and TGVs definitely went via Grande Ceinture (and technically still can). The Petite Ceinture is extant but a train cannot be run along it - parts have been turned into a sort of “urban greenway” and there seems to be a lack of agreement over the future purpose for the line.

 

[Gadget88]

I travel to paris in October can I expect things to be fine by then?

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I do remember about 10 years ago getting Eurostar to Lille, then changing onto a TGV to Bordeaux, which sort of by passed the centre of Paris, it called at Charles De Gaulle Airport and The station for Disneyland before joining the mainline to the southwest. Was that using the Grande Ceinture, or is that another route?

 

[Bald Rick]

I do remember about 10 years ago getting Eurostar to Lille, then changing onto a TGV to Bordeaux, which sort of by passed the centre of Paris, it called at Charles De Gaulle Airport and The station for Disneyland before joining the mainline to the southwest. Was that using the Grande Ceinture, or is that another route?

You would have been on the LGV Interconnection (Paris bypass) around the east of Paris, then back up north towards Paris, before joining the Grande Ceinture at Valenton to travel aaround the south of Paris to Massy where you joined the LGV Atlantique towards Tours.

 

[MarcVD]

Ah yes, you’re most probably right. To my knowledge, the Petite Centure had been closed operationally for decades, maybe not?!

The route between Nord and Lyon closed during the 1980s, I don't remember when exactly.