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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The station of Denfert-Rochereau, originally named station of Paris-d-Enfer or pier of Sceaux, was inaugurated on 23 June 1846 by the Dukes of Nemours and Montpensier, representing Louis-Philippe. Designed by the engineer Jean-Claude Arnoux, it marked the terminus of the Sceaux line, the first railway line in Paris operated with its innovative system (wide track at 1,750 mm and articulated trains). The circular building, built in 1842, married a railway loop allowing trains to leave without manoeuvre, a particularity abandoned at the end of the 19th century due to technical constraints.

In 1895, the line was extended to Luxembourg and the station took the name Denfert-Rochereau, in tribute to the colonel hero of Belfort (1870). The operation passed from Paris-Orléans to the CMP (1937), then to RATP (1948). Integrated into the RER B in the 1970s, it became a key hub of the francilian network. Its architecture, with pediment adorned with a Bodet dial and bas-reliefs celebrating the railway, was classified as a historical monument in 1996. Since 2013, it has been home to the unified command centre of Line B, jointly managed by RATP and SNCF.

The station retains traces of its history, such as the three original tracks (until 2013) or an old waiting room masked by distributors. In 2018-2019, work modernized its docks, including a third dedicated to intermediate terminus. Since August 2019, she has also paid tribute to Colonel Rol-Tanguy, figure of the Liberation of Paris, with a subtitle on her panels. Today, with 4.3 million annual travellers (2014), it remains a symbol of the Parisian railway heritage, in correspondence with the metro (lines 4 and 6) and multiple buses.

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