La Défense station

La Défense
La Défense
Paris Métro, RER and Transilien station & tram stop
	Station view
Location	Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine; Île-de-France; France
Coordinates	48°53′31″N 2°14′19″E / 48.891852°N 2.238539°ECoordinates: 48°53′31″N 2°14′19″E / 48.891852°N 2.238539°E
Owned by	SNCF & RATP
Operated by	SNCF & RATP
Line(s)	; ; ; ;
Platforms	2 (RER) / 2 (Transilien) / 2 (Métro) / 1 (Tramway)
Tracks	4 (RER) / 4 (Transilien) / 2 (Métro) / 2 (Tramway)
Other information
Station code	87382218 (SNCF) / 87758011 (RER A)
Fare zone	2 (RATP) / 3 (SNCF)
History
Opened	April 1959 (SNCF); 19 January 1970 (RATP)
Passengers
	15,329,402 (2017) — 9th out of 302
Services
RER
Transilien

La Défense (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. 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).^[1]^[2]^[3]

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 (Paris Zone 1–2 tickets not valid)
Line 1 (terminus, Paris Zone 1–2 tickets valid)
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
Tram 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 (Paris Métro)[]

G	Street Level	Exits/Entrances
M	Mezzanine	to Exits/Entrances passageway to RER/Transilien lines
Line 1 platforms	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)→

Note: These are two side platforms located some distance apart, as opposed to one island platform; the layout does not show the platforms accurately.