Gare Du Nord - Service

Service

Like other Parisian railway stations, the Gare du Nord rapidly became too small to deal with the increase in railway traffic. In 1884, engineers were able to add five supplementary tracks. The interior was completely rebuilt in 1889 and an extension was built on the eastern side to serve suburban rail lines. More expansion work was carried out between the 1930s and the 1960s.

Beginning in 1906 and 1908, the station was served by the Metro Line 4, which crosses Paris from north to south, and the terminus of Metro Line 5, which ran to Étoile through Place d'Italie. In 1942, Line 5 was extended towards the northern suburbs of Pantin and Bobigny, while its south terminus was set to Place d'Italie. Metro Line 2 (station La Chapelle) is linked to the Gare du Nord via an underground tunnel. One enters the Métro station and, instead of climbing the stairs that lead to the elevated métro line (not all of Line 2 is elevated) descends several flights of stairs, before traversing a long, arched circular hallway to enter the station.

Finally, in 1994, the arrival of Eurostar trains required another reorganisation of the rail tracks:

• Platforms 1 and 2 :: Service platforms, not open to the public.
• Platforms 3 to 6 :: Terminus of the London Eurostar via the Channel Tunnel.
• Platforms 7 and 8 :: Thalys platforms for Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
• Platforms 9 to 18 :: TGV North, Main Line trains, and some Picard TER.
• Platforms 19 to 21 :: Picard TER.
• Platforms 30 to 36 :: Suburban station, Transiliens and Picard TER (Paris-Beauvais line)
• Platforms 41 to 44 (underground) :: RER station, lines B and D.
• 4 Métro Platforms (underground) :: Lines 4&5

It is also connected to Magenta RER Station (4 platforms, line E) and La Chapelle Métro Station (2 platforms, line 2)

There is a further construction project to build a connecting hallway between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, which is projected to open around the time when the new LGV Est begins serving the station. When open the Gare du Nord-Gare de l'Est complex (including Magenta & La Chapelle) will have 77 platforms, more than any other rail station in the world.

Security for the station is provided by the French police, the railways police and private security companies. Due to the position of the station as a gateway to the northern suburbs of Paris, there are some parts of the station where security incidents occur from time to time.