La Défense
Station view
General information
Location	La Défense Puteaux France
Coordinates	48°53′31″N 2°14′19″E / 48.891852°N 2.238539°E / 48.891852; 2.238539
Operated by	SNCF & RATP Group
Platforms	Métro: 2 side platforms RER: 2 island platforms Tramway: 1 island platform Transilien: 2 island platforms
Tracks	Métro: 2 RER: 4 Tramway: 2 Transilien: 4
Construction
Accessible	Metro: Yes [1] RER A: Yes, by request to staff RER E: Yes, by prior reservation Tramway: Yes Transilien: Yes, by prior reservation [2]
Other information
Station code	87758011 / 87731430 87382218
Fare zone	3
History
Opened	April 1959; 65 years ago (1959-04)
Passengers
2017	15,329,402
Rank	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 Nanterre–La Folie Terminus RER E Neuilly–Porte Maillot towards Chelles–Gournay or Tournan Preceding station Transilien Following station Puteaux towards Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Versailles–Rive Droite Line L Courbevoie towards Paris–Saint Lazare Puteaux towards La Verrière Line U Terminus Preceding station Tram Following station Puteaux towards T2 Faubourg de l'Arche towards

La Défense station (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). ^{[3] [4] [5]}

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 and Line E
• Paris Métro 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
• Île-de-France tramway 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

-0	Street level	Entrances/exits
-1	Platforms
-2	Mezzanine	to entrances/exits passageway to RER/Transilien lines
-3	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) →
-4	Platform 1	→ toward Boissy-Saint-Léger or Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy ( Charles de Gaulle–Étoile) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Platform A	→ toward Boissy-Saint-Léger or Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy ( Charles de Gaulle–Étoile) →
	Platform B	← toward Saint Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut or Poissy ( Nanterre-Préfecture)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Platform 2	← toward Saint Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut or Poissy ( Nanterre-Préfecture)
-5	Platform 1	→ toward Chelles–Gournay or Tournan ( Neuilly–Porte Maillot) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 2	← toward Nanterre–La Folie (Terminus)

• Note: The two side platforms for Metro Line 1 are located some distance apart, as opposed to one island platform.

Gallery

• 
  RER A platforms
• 
  Transilien platforms
• 
  Paris Tramway Line 2 platform
• 
  MP 05 on Line 1
• 
  New automatic platform gates on eastbound platform

La Défense RER platform panorama

In popular culture

Buffet froid, the film, begins at La Défense station. ^{[6] [7]}

See also

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

References

Bibliography

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gare de la Défense.

External links

Media related to Gare de la Défense at Wikimedia Commons

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