From Lille-Flandres to Lille-Europe —The Evolution of a Railway Station Corinne Tiry
Feature From Lille-Flandres to Lille-Europe From Lille-Flandres to Lille-Europe —The Evolution of a Railway Station Corinne Tiry Since the mid-19th century, European Council, the Northern Railway Company economic arguments finally prevailed and cities evolved around the railway station established in 1845 by the Rothschild a good compromise was adopted—two as a central pivot where goods and people family, the French government and some stations would be built, a terminal inside converge. This is still true today when of Lille's most prominent citizens. These the city walls for passengers traffic, and a railway stations take on a new role as controversies also stimulated nearby urban through terminal outside for goods traffic. urban hubs in the European high-speed projects. Construction of the passenger terminal train network. Lille in northern France, started in 1845, and lasted 3 years. which has two stations from different The Railway Station Enters However, the builders underestimated the railway periods—Lille-Flandres and Lille- the City scale of both passenger and freight traffic Europe, is a good example illustrating this and the capacity was soon saturated. To quasi-continuous past and present urban In the 19th century, the railway station solve this new problem, an Imperial ambitions. became a new gateway to the city, Decree in 1861 allowed the Northern Lille is a city of 170,000 adjacent to the disrupting both the city walls' protective Railway Company to start construction of French-Belgian border. It is at the economic function, as well as the urban layout. The a marshalling yard—called Saint-Sauveur heart of the Lille-Roubaix-Tourcoing- original controversy in Lille emerged from station—south of the main passenger Villeneuve d'Ascq conurbation of 1.2 this duality and a station inside the city station, at the junction of the old city and million people, ranking (excepting Paris) was strongly opposed by the military.
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