1857: The Opening of a Railway Station in France

April 22, 1857

A railway station was opened in the prefecture and commune of Carcassonne in southern France’s department of Aude. This station was built by the Railway Company du Midi. Carcassone railway station (Gare de Carcassonne) is now operated by the Société nationale des Chemins de fer francais (SNCF), the national state-owned railway company of France. This station is used for regular runs by the following rail services: Intercités; TGV; and Transport express regional (TER).

Carcassonne railway station’s main building, which features a clock flanked by two wings, has attracted attention over the years for its classical style of architecture. This facility is also noted for its artwork. The station hall, for example, is decorated with a fresco that was created by painter Jean Camberoque in 1995 and depicts that region of France. In addition, the station buffet area contains a mural that was painted in 1996 and portrays French film actor Philippe Noiret waiting on the station platform for a train.

Photo Credit: Andy Mitchell (https://www.flickr.com/people/19229064@N00) – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

A video of Carcassonne railway station is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWatXv3YtHw

For more information on the history of rail transport in France, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_France