Europe’s busiest railway station, Gare du Nord, is 150 this year and to celebrate the terminal is to undergo one of the biggest modernisations in its history.
Built in 1864, Gare du Nord connects Paris with the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, handling 700,000 passengers and 2,100 trains every day.
The original Gare du Nord actually opened in 1846 before it was dismantled brick by brick and rebuilt as Gare de Lille Flandres.
In 1875, the station was welcoming six million passengers a year. By 1889, this figure had risen to 10 million.
In January, SNCF announced it would be marking the anniversary with ‘Plan Botox’ – a programme of cleaning, redecorating and renewing. Between now and 2018, the station interior will undergo a deep clean and LED lighting and new passenger information screens will be installed.
