Luxembourg railway station
49°36′00″N 06°08′02″E / 49.60000°N 6.13389°E
Luxembourg railway station (Luxembourgish: Gare Lëtzebuerg, French: Gare de Luxembourg, ‹See Tfd›German: Bahnhof Luxemburg) is the main railway station serving Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is operated by Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, the state-owned railway company.
80 000 passengers use this station every day.
It is the hub of Luxembourg's domestic railway network, serving as a point of call on all but one of Luxembourg's railway lines (the exception being Line 80, which only stops at one station in Luxembourg). It also functions as the country's international railway hub, with services to all the surrounding countries: Belgium, France, and Germany. Since June 2007, the LGV Est has connected the station to the French TGV network.
The station is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the city centre (Ville Haute), to the south of the River Pétrusse. The station gives its name to Gare, one of the Quarters of Luxembourg City.
History
The original railway station was built entirely from timber, and was opened in 1859. The position of the new station on the south bank of the Pétrusse, away from the original built-up area of the city, was on account of Luxembourg's role as a German Confederation fortress. The first connection to the city proper came in 1861, with the construction of the Passerelle viaduct.[1] After the 1867 Treaty of London, the fortifications were demolished, leading to the expansion of the city around the station.
The old wooden station was replaced by the modern building between 1907 and 1913,[1] at the height of an economic boom, fuelled by iron from the Red Lands. The new station was designed by a trio of German architects (Rüdell, Jüsgen, and Scheuffel) in the Moselle Baroque Revival style that dominates Luxembourg's major public buildings.[1] The station lies at the end of the Avenue de la Liberté, one of the city's major thoroughfares, and its imposing clock tower can be seen from a considerable distance.[1]
Modernisation work
Since 2006, under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport, Luxembourg station has been undergoing major renovation work which, by 2009, had already resulted in new ticketing and sales facilities inside the main hall, widening of the platforms, new lifts and a new passenger subway. Future work will include renewal of the overhead electrical wiring, installation of two platform escalators, a new entrance porch and a redesigned forecourt. In 2011, work will start on a glass passenger hall and on a four-storey car park, to be completed in 2012.[2]
Train services
The station is served by the following services:
- High speed services (TGV) Paris - Metz - Thionville - Luxembourg
- EuroCity services Brussels - Namur - Luxembourg - Strasbourg - Mulhouse - Basel
- Intercity services Luxembourg - Arlon - Namur - Brussels
- Interregional services Luxembourg - Ettelbruck - Kautenbach - Troisvierges - Gouvy - Liege - Liers
- Night sleeper service Luxembourg - Avignon - Marseille - Cannes - Nice
- Night sleeper service Luxembourg - Nimes - Montpellier - Perpignan - Port Bou
- Regional services Luxembourg - Ettelbruck - Diekirch
- Regional services Luxembourg - Wasserbillig - Trier - Koblenz
- Regional services Luxembourg - Bettembourg - Esch - Petange - Rodange
- Regional services Luxembourg - Bettembourg - Dudelange - Volmerange-les-Mines
- Regional services (TER Lorraine) Luxembourg - Thionville - Metz - Nancy
- Local services Luxembourg - Ettelbruck - Kautenbach - Wiltz
- Local services Luxembourg - Ettelbruck
- Local services Luxembourg - Wasserbillig
- Local services Luxembourg - Kleinbettingen
- Local services Luxembourg - Bettembourg - Esch - Belval - Petange - Rotange
- Local services Luxembourg - Petange - Rotange - Athus - Longwy
Luxembourg station has some voltage-switchable tracks for Line 50 to Arlon, which is electrified with the Belgian voltage of 3kV DC.
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d "Architectural tour of the railway station district" (PDF). Luxembourg City Tourism Office. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
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(help) - ^ L’avenir des transports en commun sur de bons rails. Gouvernement du Grand Duché de Luxembourg. Retrieved 10 March 2009. [dead link]
See also
External links
- Railway stations in Luxembourg (city)
- Railway stations opened in 1859
- Railway stations on CFL Line 10
- Railway stations on CFL Line 30
- Railway stations on CFL Line 50
- Railway stations on CFL Line 60
- Railway stations on CFL Line 70
- Luxembourgian architecture
- Railway stations opened in 1913
- 1859 establishments in Luxembourg