A few days ago, SNCF Gares & Connexions and its subsidiary Arep presented its plan to extend Marseille Saint-Charles station in Marseille, in the presence of local politicians. This major project will see the construction ofa new station below with "Les Halles Saint-Charles", in addition to the construction of an underground crossing of Marseille via an 8 km tunnel, work on which will start in 2027-2028. A reorganisation of the surface tracks serving the historic station is also planned between 2025 and 2030, as well as a reorganisation of the side tracks linking the station to Estaque.
The overall aim is to facilitate traffic to and through the station in order to respond to the 50% increase in passenger numbersThe station is expected to grow from 15 to 19 million passengers a year. The work at Saint-Charles station is therefore one of the major elements in the development of the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d'Azur (LNPCA) as far as the Italian border, and therefore of rail traffic between Spain, France and Italy. Work is planned between now and 2035 on the entire LNPCA at Nice, Cannes, Mandelieu, Les Arcs, Carnoules, La Pauline, Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, Puget...
SNCF specifies that this project will make it possible to " the creation of direct rail services between the west and east of the city without the need to change trains at Gare Saint-Charles "and time savings of 15 to 20 minutes for more than 20,000 trains passing through Marseille every year" . Passengers will benefit from a host of advantages and new services, including improved train regularity and TER interval timetables, with a train scheduled every 15 minutes from Marseille to the towns of Aubagne, Miramas and Aix-en-Provence.
The Aix-Marseille Provence metropolitan authority is planning to set up a Metropolitan Regional Express Service (SERM) with two Marseille-Miramas services, one via Vitrolles Aéroport Marseille Provence and the other via "la Côte Bleue" (Carry-le-Rouet, Martigues, Fos-sur-Mer, Istres...), as well as a Marseille-Aubagne-Aix-en-Provence link, via Gardanne.
Creating a leading multimodal hub
A regional and national multimodal interchange will be created, including TER and long-distance services (Inoui, Ouigo, Renfe, Trenitalia, etc.), Saint-Charles metro station - lines M1 and M2 will be modernised and automated as part of the project - as well as a new tramway line between the Belle de Mai district and the city centre, a bus station for coaches and metropolitan buses, not forgetting a connection to the city's cycle routes.
While the new Halles Saint-Charles station will incorporate the previous extension built in 2007, the whole project is designed to take account of current environmental issues through the use of sustainable, low-carbon materials, vegetation adapted to climate change 4,300 m² of outdoor space, rainwater harvesting, the creation of shade areas and the installation of 5,000 m² of photovoltaic panels to produce electricity.green electricity. Finally, this is an urban project for the city of Marseille, as the new station will open up 360° to the surrounding districts, facilitating pedestrian traffic between the Belle de Mai district to the north and the Saint-Charles and Chapitre districts to the south, taking advantage of the new subways, squares and landscaped walkways.
