It is now an old lady, well preserved. Beneath its imposing, majestic appearance, La Rochelle station hides its age well. But in a few days, it will blow out its… Hundredth candle. You read correctly, the building designed by the architect Pierre Esquié, one of the last of this magnitude built at the time, will have a century right on Friday, November 19, inaugurated… on November 19, 1922. An opportunity to organize festivities. Especially since the town hall and the Agglo will take the opportunity to mark, at the same time, the end of the work, which began more than two years ago. Programme, amenities, France Bleu La Rochelle explains everything to you.
The festivities
The communities (town hall, agglomeration, region, department) and the SNCF have allocated a budget of almost 300,000 euros for these festivities. Visits, exhibitions, shows are planned. Everything is free.
- The show “Between iron and sea”. From videomapping, created by the La Rochelle company Anima Lux. From Friday 18, until the following Tuesday 22 November, you will be able to attend, by positioning yourself on the forecourt of the station, a huge projection on the facade. The artist was inspired by the architecture of the building for his scenario. Show broadcast continuously, every evening, from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. It lasts less than ten minutes.
- The Saturday Show, centenary day. “Travellers”, by the Kervan company. At 4.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m., festive and burlesque show inspired by the writings of Jules Verne.
- A photography exhibition to retrace a century of history. These photographs from the municipal archives will be exhibited on the forecourt. Possible visits, free, it lasts one hour: Saturday and Sunday, at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. Registration on larochelle-tourisme.com
- A display of American wagons of the First World War. In 1918, the American soldiers engaged in the conflict had installed an assembly line of wagons. At the origin, later, of the establishment of the Alstom site….
- Marsh tours, now directly connected to the station with this famous footbridge. Free visits, Saturday and Sunday, at 10 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 3 pm (duration of an hour and a quarter). Again, registration on larochelle-tourisme.com
Completion of work
Another high point of these festivities, the inauguration of the famous footbridge, at 6.30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a reception from 7.10 p.m. (everyone is invited). By extension, that’s all this “multimodal exchange hub” which will be celebratedfor the end of the work (or almost), started in the summer of 2020 (they are very late). “The site will be 99.98% complete” assures the mayor Jean-François Fountaine. Because at 100 years, the station will reveal a new face (and it will be quite a facelift).
There will therefore be this huge footbridge, which will make it possible to join the two sides, forecourt/city center, to the marsh, and to descend on the tracks. The whole forecourt which has just been completely redone. With spaces for bicycles, and change for car parks. On the city center side, two parking areas. A 90-space drop-off and a 250-space car park. Then, behind, there will now be a parking lot with 230 spaces. “The station adapts to the times” poetizes the mayor of La Rochelle.
How to get there
To encourage as many people as possible to come:
- The Yélo bus network will be free, from November 18 to 22, from 7 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and on Saturday 19 all day. The Illico lines departing from park and ride facilities (Beaulieu, Les Greffières, Vieljeux and Jean Moulin) have been reinforced. Buses every 20 minutes, and until 11:30 p.m. from the station.
- For trains, from the stations of La Jarrie, Aytré, Angoulins, Châtelaillon, the journey will be free to reach La Rochelle station. Exceptionally more numerous TERs, later returns from Friday evening to Saturday evening.