La Défense station

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. In the future, Paris Metro Line 15 of Grand Paris Express will pass through here, making it a huge railway hub. 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]

La Défense
Paris Métro, RER and Transilien station & tram stop
Station view
General information
Location	Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine Île-de-France France
Coordinates	48.891852°N 2.238539°E / 48.891852; 2.238539
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	3
History
Opened	April 1959 (1959-04) (SNCF) 19 January 1970 (1970-01-19) (RATP)
Passengers
15,329,402 (2017) — 9th out of 302
Services
Preceding station Paris Métro Following station Terminus Line 1 Esplanade de La Défense towards Château de Vincennes Preceding station RER Following station Nanterre-Préfecture towards Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Cergy-le-Haut or Poissy RER A Charles de Gaulle–Étoile towards Boissy-Saint-Léger or Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy Preceding station Transilien Following station Courbevoie towards Paris-St.-Lazare Line L Puteaux towards Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche or Versailles-RD Terminus Line U Puteaux towards La Verrière

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.