La Défense station

La Défense
Paris Métro, RER and Transilien station & tram stop
Station view
General information
Location	Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine Île-de-France France
Coordinates	48.891852°N 2.238539°E / 48.891852; 2.238539
Owned by	SNCF & RATP
Operated by	SNCF & RATP
Line(s)
Platforms	2 (RER) / 2 (Transilien) / 2 (Métro) / 1 (Tramway)
Tracks	4 (RER) / 4 (Transilien) / 2 (Métro) / 2 (Tramway)
Other information
Station code	87382218 (SNCF) / 87758011 (RER A)
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	April 1959 (1959-04) (SNCF) 19 January 1970 (1970-01-19) (RATP)
Passengers
15,329,402 (2017) — 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 Preceding station Transilien Following station Courbevoie towards Cergy-le-Haut, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Versailles–Rive Droite Line L Puteaux towards Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Versailles–Rive Droite Terminus Line U Puteaux towards La Défense

La Défense (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 La Défense–Grande Arche 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).

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.

Lines serving this station

• RER Line A
• Line 1
• Paris St Lazare Group III :
  • SNCF Gare Saint-Lazare – St Nom la Breteche–Forêt de Marly
  • SNCF Gare Saint-Lazare – Versailles Rive Droite
• SNCF La Défense – La Verrière
• Tram Line 2

There are four platforms in the Transilien station :

In the morning:

• Platforms 1 and 3 are used for PSL Group III lines to Paris
• Platform 2 is used for PSL Group III lines to Versailles Rive Droite / St Nom la Breteche – Forêt de Marly
• Platform 4 is used for La Défense – La Verrière line

In the afternoon:

• Platform 1 is used for PSL Group III lines to Paris
• Platforms 2 and 4 are used for PSL Group III lines to Versailles Rive Droite / St Nom la Breteche – Forêt de Marly
• Platform 3 is used for La Défense – La Verrière line

Station layout (Paris Métro)

G	Street Level	Exits/Entrances
M	Mezzanine	to Exits/Entrances passageway to RER/Transilien lines
Line 1 platforms	Platform 1	← termination platform
	Side platform with PSDs, doors will open on the left
	Side platform with PSDs, doors will open on the left
	Platform 2	→ toward Château de Vincennes (Esplanade de La Défense)→

• Note: These are two side platforms located some distance apart, as opposed to one island platform; the layout does not show the platforms accurately.

Gallery

• 
  RER A platforms
• 
  Transilien platforms
• 
  Paris Tramway Line 2 platform

La Défense RER platform panorama

Metro

• 
  MP 05 on Line 1
• 
  MP 89 at La Défense (eastbound platform)
• 
  New automatic platform gates on eastbound platform

In popular culture

Buffet froid, the film, begins at La Défense station.

See also

• List of stations of the Paris Métro
• List of stations of the Paris RER

Bibliography

• Roland, Gérard (2003). Stations de métro. D’Abbesses à Wagram. Éditions Bonneton.

External links

• La Défense station at Transilien, the official website of SNCF (in French)