Luxembourg railway station

Luxembourg railway station (Luxembourgish: Gare Lëtzebuerg, French: Gare de Luxembourg, 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.

Luxembourg
Commuter, national and international rail services
The station's facade at Place de la Gare is in the traditional Moselle Baroque Revival style.
Location11 place de la Gare, L-1616
Gare
Luxembourg
Coordinates49°35′43″N 6°09′33″E
Owned byLuxembourg
Operated byCFL
Platforms9
Train operators
History
Opened4 October 1859 (1859-10-04)
Luxembourg station is served by trains from all three neighbouring countries. In this view are a French TGV run by the SNCF and, in the background, a Belgian train can be seen.

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 of Luxembourg's railway lines. 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 connects 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

Aerial view of the railway station's Place de la Gare and the quarter around Avenue de la Liberté

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

In 2006, the Ministry of Transport began a six-year renovation project on Luxembourg station that totaled €95 million. The improvements included new ticketing and sales facilities inside the main hall, expanding platforms, new lifts, a new passenger subway, upgraded overhead electrical wiring, installation of two platform escalators, a new entrance porch, a redesigned forecourt, a glass passenger hall, and a four-storey car park.[2]

Train services

As of December 2017 the station is served by the following services:

Rail map with departure times from Luxembourg station
  • High speed services (TGV) Luxembourg - Thionville - Metz - Paris
  • Intercity services Luxembourg - Ettelbruck - Troisvierges - Gouvy - Liège
  • Intercity services Luxembourg - Wasserbillig - Trier - Koblenz - Köln - Düsseldorf
  • Intercity services Luxembourg - Arlon (- Namur - Brussels)
  • Regional services Luxembourg - Ettelbruck - Diekirch
  • Regional services Luxembourg - Wasserbillig - Trier - Koblenz
  • Regional services (TER Lorraine) Luxembourg - Bettembourg - Thionville - Metz - Nancy
  • Regional services Luxembourg - Bettembourg - Esch - Petange - Rodange
  • Regional services Luxembourg - Rodange - Athus
  • Regional services Luxembourg - Rodange - Longwy
  • Regional services Luxembourg - Kleinbettingen - Arlon
Preceding station   Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois   Following station
Wasserbillig
towards Emden
IC/EC 35
Operated in cooperation with DB
Terminus
toward Liers
IC 33Terminus
TerminusLine 10
toward Gouvy, Wiltz, or Diekirch
Line 30
toward Schweich
Line 50
toward Arlon
Line 60
toward Thionville, Volmerange-les-Mines,
Rumelange, Audun-le-Tiche, or Pétange
Line 70
toward Athus or Longuyon
Preceding station   SNCF   Following station
toward Paris-Est
TGVTerminus
toward Nancy-Ville
TER Grand Est L1Terminus
TerminusTER Grand Est L26
Hollerich
toward Longwy
Preceding station   Deutsche Bahn   Following station
TerminusRE
operated by CFL until Trier
Wasserbillig
toward Trier Hbf
Preceding station   NMBS/SNCB   Following station
Arlon
IC 16
IC "des Ardennes" & Luxembourg
Terminus

Luxembourg station has some voltage-switchable tracks for Line 50 to Arlon, which is electrified with the Belgian voltage of 3 kV DC. These are due to disappear in 2018

Footnotes

  1. "Architectural tour of the railway station district" (PDF). Luxembourg City Tourism Office. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
  2. "Une nouvelle gare pour fêter son centenaire" [New Station to Celebrate its Centennial]. L'essentiel (in French). Luxembourg. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2018.

See also

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