Réseau Saint-Lazare

SNCF
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Réseau Saint-Lazare is the network of railway lines originating from Saint Lazare Station in Paris. The network stretches from Paris to Brittany and encompasses suburban services. Parisian suburban rail services are operated under SNCF's brand name Transilien, intercity services are also operated by SNCF but under the brand name Corail.

History

The "Réseau Saint-Lazare" authority was created in 1938 at the birth of the SNCF forming along with "Réseau Montparnasse" the Région Ouest of SNCF's french network. Its history began when the first line out of Paris was built in 1835.

Paris - Le Pecq - Saint-Germain

Railway history on the Réseau Saint-Lazare began in 1835 when Émile Péreire built the first parisian railway line linking the French capital with Le Pecq. The line opened on 24 August 1837 and was inaugurated by Marie-Amélie, wife of King Louis-Philippe. The line was 19 km long and the trip took 30 minutes. Parisians could enjoy the clean air of what was then the countryside in what was relative comfort on the single track railway line. The second track was added in 1838.

The intermediate stations of Chatou and Nanterre were opened in 1837, Asnières-sur-Seine in 1837. From curiosity to tourism, the railway line slowly became a means of public transport to go to work. Further stations at Colombes and Rueil-Malmaison opened in 1843 and 1844. The line to Saint Germain opened in 1860. Service gradually slowed down as more intermediate stations opened.

Paris - Versailles - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche

The wheel had started turning and project came afoot. While the line to Saint Germain was being built, a line to Versailles, another popular Sunday destination, was projected. so much was thought that two projects existed, The Government incapable of chosing one or the other authorised both in July 1836. Two lines were to be built, one from Gare Saint-Lazare, the other form Barrière du Maine, two stations, Versailles Rive Gauche and Versailles Rive Droite were built. Jean de Rothschild in conjunction with the Chemin de Fer de Versailles-rive-Droite, created in 1837, were given the concession to operate the line. The line to Versailles, still in use today, is 19 km long and is an extension of the line to Saint Germain branching of at Asnières-sur-Seine. The line serves Courbevoie, Puteaux, Suresnes, Saint-Cloud, Sèvres and Viroflay. After construction of bridges and tunnels (including the tunnel underneath the Parc de Saint-Cloud), the line opened on 4 August 1839.

To better use the line, a 15 km long branch was built from Saint-Cloud to Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche at the cost of the French State. The line was declared of public utility in 1880 and the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest opened the line to l'Etang-la-Ville in 1884. Passenger services were extended to Saint-Germain Grande-Ceinture in 1889, services were then reported back to Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche in 1894 when passenger services on the Chemin de fer de Grande Ceinture were stopped.

Paris - Mantes, via Poissy

The railway line to Mantes-la-Jolie was the first section of the main line to Rouen in Normandy. Two lines were projected, one using the line from Nanterre and following the Seine valley, the other via Pontoise and using the high plateaux. Due to the lack of confidence in the second project, the first one was granted and the concession given to Charles Laffitte and Edouard Blount. Construction began in 1841 under the orders of engineer Joseph Locke and with the help of British workers.

The line to Mantes left the other railway lines at Asnières-sur-Seine then proceeding to Bezons, Sartrouville, Poissy, Épône and Mantes-la-Jolie on the Seine's left bank. Inauguration of the line was on 9 May 1843 and was an immediate success, so much so that issues with the Chemin de Fer de Saint-Germain with platform allocation at Gare Saint-Lazare occurred.

Paris - Mantes, via Meulan

The Seine's right bank was not yet served, and the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest wished to create a second line to Mantes-la-Jolie so as to double its capacity to Rouen and Le Havre which was being increasingly used. The line to Argenteuil opened on 25 April 1851. The extension to Mantes, some 47.7 km long, opened in 1855. The line was designed to both serve as a relief route as well as a fully fledged suburban line, also, intermediate stations at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Triel and Meulan. The line was built with double tracks and a large 21 track goods yard at Argenteuil where the line crossed the Chemin de fer de Grande Ceinture.

Paris - Auteuil

To optimise use of its Parisian terminus, the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest obtained the concession of a small urban railway line serving the Western boroughs of Paris; Batignoles, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Passy and Auteuil. Construction of the 6.9 km long line began in 1852 and opened in 1854.

Track

Cohabitation of both intercity and suburban rail did cause problems. Junctions were not carefully planned, and extensions were simply grafted onto the existing network. The Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest's suburban network was particularly touched by problems of cohabitation on the line and at stations since it had the largest suburban network in France. The problem resided in the fact that lines crossed each other, creating unnecessary bottlenecks and hold ups. In 1880, the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest operated four lines out of Saint-Lazare: the lines to Versailles Rive Droite and Argenteuil separated at Asnières whilst the lines to Saint-Germain and Rouen separated at Colombes. As they were, both lines to Argenteuil crossed those to Saint-Germain and Rouen at Asnières. The Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest thus decided create a spur, opened in 1891, from Bécon-les-Bruyères and La Garenne-Colombes. In 1892, the line to Saint-Germain was rerouted to a spur of the line to Versailles instead of the line to Poissy whilst the line to Poissy was rerouted to a spur of the line to Argenteuil, avoiding crossings. The bridge over the River Seine still had four tracks, but serving two pairs of lines. These modifications were only sufficient for a time as traffic was in constant increase, growing from 26 million passengers in 1888 to 42 million in 1898. The tunnel at Batignoles (now Pont Cardinet) was another bottleneck, so a fourth tunnel was built, but later demolished along with all save one tunnel in 1912. At that time, the Chemin de Fer de l'État possessed eight tracks leaving Saint-Lazare, which were split into four groups:
*Groupe I: Auteuil
*Groupe II: Versailles
*Groupe III: Saint-Germain
*Germain IV: NormandyThe eight tracks were supplemented by two sidings, used to transfer rolling stock and locomotives, as well as a second bridge at Asnières. World War I slowed expansion and the second bridge was only built in 1921, the year when a grave accident occurred in the Batignoles tunnel and precipitated its demolition. The demolition of the tunnels as well as the transfer of the terminus of the line to Auteuil at Pont Cardinet freed up platforms at Saint-Lazare and increased tracks in the "tranchée des Batignoles" from eight to ten and split in five groups:
*Groupe I: Auteuil, leaving Pont Cardinet
*Groupe II: Versailles
*Groupe III: Saint-Germain
*Groupe IV: Argenteuil
*Groupe V: Mantes, via Poissy
*Groupe VI: Mantes, via ConflansAn eleventh track, used for servicing, was built for reversing locomotives. The "pont d'Asnières" was widened to accommodate the ten tracks. A saut-de-mouton (flying junction) was built between Asnières and Bois-Colombes to avoid the crossing of the groupe IV and groupe V lines.

Two joining lines were built in 1923 and 1925 at La Folie and Bezons to relieve suburban lines from goods services. The station building at Bois-Colombes was rebuilt above the railway line in 1934 as well as the quadrupling of the line as well as replacement of all the remaining level crossings by bridges or underpasses between 1933 and 1935. The line was also rebuilt on a 585 m long viaduct between Bois-Colombes and Le Stade (Gennevilliers). Other modernisation projects included the electrification of the Réseau Saint-Lazare.

Electrification

Third rail electrification

The Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest had hoped to electrify parts of its lines to Saint-Germain and Argenteuil as early as 1908. Many of the construction work on the lines were initiated to alleviate operational issues but steam traction meant that without remote driving or the locomotive, engines had to be turned around the train at termini. Third rail electrification had been applied to Paris' underground and the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans's line from Les Invalides with success.

Rolling stock chosen were two carriage 22m long EMUs of Z 1300 class resting on two bogies and compatible with rolling stock used on the line at Les Invalides. 1500 V overhead electrification had been dismissed by the French Government following World War I and so 650 V third rail electrification was chosen. A special commission had found that the "Réseau État Saint-Lazare" was in need of electrification on the railway lines to Saint-Germain, Versailles Rive Droite, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, Puteaux, Issy-les-Moulineaux and Argenteuil. The Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest and then the Chemin de Fer de l'État from 1909 had worked towards that goal by simplifying track layout in Paris' close suburbs.

On 24 April 1924, the third rail was switched on "groupe II" on the 6 km section between Paris and Bécon-les-Bruyères and on "groupe IV" on the 6 km section between Paris and Bois-Colombes. The press as well as the public saluted the arrival of the electric train which made some steam hauled trains look old. Indeed some coaches in use were old RomanCentury|19 double-deck passenger cars with notorious comfort. The "rames standard" was capable of carrying 372 seated passengers and were capable of being coupled together. They were stabbled at Rueil-Malmaison, Bois-Colombes and Champ de Mars and servicing was performed at La Folie.

The 7 km long railway line to Auteuil was electrified in January 1925. The line to Saint-Germain-en-Laye was electrified up to Rueil-Malmaison (14 km) in June 1926, then extended to Saint-Germain in 1927. The line to Versailles Rive Droite was electrified in July 1928 as well as between Puteaux and Issy-les-Moulineaux, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche in May 1931 and the 10 km long line to Argenteuil in 1936 after the quadrupling of the tracks two years earlier.

Electricity was fed to the EMUs under the third rail, as opposed to above the rail in Southern England. The third rail was fed by fourteen sub-stations themselves fed by 15000 V and 1500 V by power stations at Nanterre and Issy-les-Moulineaux. the sub-stations was partially automated in the early 1930s.

When electrification was implemented, zoned services were put in place to decrease travel time, this meant that not all trains served all stations and semi-direct trains served the further stations. This decreased travel time for users of further town. From 1926, three trains served the Saint-Germain line:
*Saint Lazare-Bécon omnibus every fifteen minutes
*Saint Lazare-Bécon direct then omnibus to Rueil every half hour
*Saint Lazare-Rueil direct then omnibus to Saint-Germain every half hour (steam operated until 1927)To maximise electrification efficiency, Bloc automatique lumineux signalling (BAL) tested between Rueil-Malmaison and Le Pecq followed by a widespread implementation on all the close suburb between 1924 and 1931.

Overhead electrification

Allied bombing in 1944 destroyed much of the railway installations and disorganised services. Operated by the SNCF since 1938, Réseau Saint-Lazare, like Réseau Nord and Réseau Est was to be electrified with overhead wire. As it had been the case with other modernisation projects, track alteration took place when it was being prepared for electrification. A fourth track was installed between Achères and Poissy in 1961 as well as a "saut-de-mouton" and an intermediate terminus at Poissy. A fourth track was also installed on a 6 km long stretch of line between Vernouillet and Les Mureaux. Stations at Sartrouville and Les Mureaux were expanded and a through track installed for suburban services.

25 kV electrification by overhead wiring was made live on "groupe V" in 1966, on 11 January between Achères and Mantes for use for goods services only and on 20 September between Gare Saint-Lazare and Achères for suburban passenger services alike.

To prepare for the arrival of overhead electrification, important structural work was done. Initiated in 1962, work ended in 1966. It included the raising of the bridge of the Place de l'Europe situated above the platforms at Gare Saint-Lazare and lowering the tracks below the "bâtiment des docks", offices situated above high numbered platforms, lengthening of the platforms allocated to intercity services and the construciton of the state of the art signal box, "poste tout relais à transit souple" (PRS). Electricity was switched on the line to Mantes via Conflans on 27 March 1967 and from Conflans to Pontoise on 14 May 1968.

Destinations

The following SNCF "Transilien" suburban train services operate out of Saint-Lazare:
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Argenteuil
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Bécon-les-Bruyères
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Boissy l'Aillerie
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Bueil
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Cergy-le-Haut
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Cormeilles-en-Parisis
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Gaillon Aubevoye
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Gisors Embranchement
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Le Stade
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Les Mureaux
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Maisons-Laffitte
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Mantes-la-Jolie
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Marly-le-Roi
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Nanterre - Université
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Oissel
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Pontoise
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Saint-Cloud
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Val-de-Reuil
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Vernon (Eure)
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Versailles Rive Droite
* La Défense - La Verrière

The following SNCF "Grandes Lignes" intercity train services operate out of Saint-Lazare:
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Vernon - Rouen - Le Havre
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Évreux - Lisieux - Caen - Cherbourg
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Évreux - Lisieux - Trouville-Deauville - Dives-Cabourg
* Gare Saint-Lazare - Rouen - Dieppe

Rolling stock

As a heritage of the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest and the Chemin de Fer de l'État and due to its size, the Réseau Saint-Lazare inheritated of a number of particular and specifically designed rolling stock.

team traction

The following locomotives were in use for passenger duties on the Réseau Saint-Lazare.
*030 T Ouest
*040 TA Ouest
*120 T Ouest
*131 TA Ouest
*141 TC Ouest
*141 TD Ouest

Electric traction

The following rolling stock is in use for passenger duties on the Réseau Saint-Lazare:
*SNCF Class BB 16000
*SNCF Class BB 16500
*SNCF Class BB 17000
*SNCF Class BB 26000Including some electric multiple units:
*SNCF Class Z 1300
*SNCF Class Z 6300
*SNCF Class Z 6400
*SNCF Class Z 20500
*SNCF TGV Réseau

Diesel traction

Since the electrification of the main line to Caen and Cherbourg in June 1996, there no longer are regular services using diesel for Gare Saint-Lazare although some regional services in Normandy, part of the Réseau Saint-Lazare use DMUs and diesel locomotives.
*SNCF Class BB 67400
*SNCF Class T 1000
*SNCF Class T 2000
*SNCF Class X 4630
*SNCF Class X 72500
*SNCF Class X 73500

Hauled stock

*Bidel passenger cars
*Voiture État à 2 étages 1933-1984
*Rame inox de banlieue 1970-present
*Voiture de banlieue à 2 niveaux 1975-present

Depots

Trains operating in the Réseau Saint Lazare are maintained in several engine sheds or EMT:
*Bâtignoles (Grandes-Lignes)
*Clichy-Levallois (Transilien)
**Asnières-sur-Seine (Transilien)
*Achères
**Mantes-la-Jolie (Freight & Transilien)
*Sotteville
*Caen