La Défense station

La Défense station (French pronunciation: [la defɑ̃s]) is a station of the Transilien (Réseau Saint-Lazare) suburban rail lines, RER commuter rail network, Paris Métro, as well as a stop of the Île-de-France tram network. In the future, Paris Metro Line 15 of Grand Paris Express will pass through here, making it a huge railway hub. It is underneath the Grande Arche building in La Défense, the business district just west of Paris. The station is the western terminus of Métro Line 1 and connects the RER A line to the Métro Line 1 station since 1992, the Line 2 tramway since 1994 and SNCF (Transilien) train station. It is also attached to a major shopping centre. There are over 25 million entries and exits each year. A temporary special SNCF service began in April 1959 (1959-04) to serve the newly-built Centre of New Industries and Technologies (CNIT); the RER entered service on 19 January 1970 (1970-01-19).^[3][4][5] The RER E station built under the CNIT opened on 6 May 2024.

Quick Facts General information, Location ...

La Défense Grande Arche
RER A station view in August 2020
General information
Location	La Défense Puteaux France
Coordinates	48°53′31″N 2°14′19″E
Operated by	SNCF & RATP Group
Platforms	Métro: 2 side platforms RER: 2 island platforms Tramway: 1 island platform Transilien: 2 island platforms
Tracks	Métro: 2 RER: 4 Tramway: 2 Transilien: 4
Construction
Accessible	Metro: Yes[1] RER A: Yes, by request to staff RER E: Yes, by prior reservation Tramway: Yes Transilien: Yes, by prior reservation[2]
Other information
Station code	87758011 / 87731430 87382218
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	April 1959; 66 years ago (1959-04)
Passengers
2017	15,329,402
Rank	9th out of 302
Services
Preceding station Paris Métro Following station Terminus Line 1 Esplanade de La Défense towards Château de Vincennes Preceding station RER Following station Nanterre-Préfecture towards Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut or Poissy RER A Charles de Gaulle–Étoile towards Boissy-Saint-Léger or Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy Nanterre–La Folie Terminus RER E Neuilly–Porte Maillot towards Chelles–Gournay or Tournan Preceding station Transilien Following station Puteaux towards Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Versailles–Rive Droite Line L Courbevoie towards Paris–Saint Lazare Puteaux towards La Verrière Line U Terminus Preceding station Tram Following station Faubourg de l'Arche towards Pont de Bezons T2 Puteaux towards Porte de Versailles

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Highlights on the surface nearby include the monumental Grande Arche, skyscrapers that host the headquarters of important French and foreign companies, and works of urban art such as Le Pouce by César Baldaccini. From the central esplanade the Arc de Triomphe can be seen further down the Axe historique. Until May 2004, this part of La Défense hosted an information centre of the European Union managed by the European Parliament. Like the district it serves, the station takes its name from the 19th-century statue La Défense de Paris, commemorating the Franco-Prussian War.