Monaco-Monte-Carlo station

Monaco-Monte-Carlo station (French: Gare de Monaco-Monte-Carlo; Monégasque: Staçiun de Munegu-Munte-Carlu) is the sole railway station in the Principality of Monaco, though part of it is located in Beausoleil, France. It is served by trains of the French state-owned operator SNCF, on the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway line. The station, along with the entire railway line in the principality, is located underground.

Monaco-Monte-Carlo
SNCF TGV inOui TER
New underground platforms, 2019
General information
LocationLa Condamine, Monaco
Beausoleil, France
Coordinates43°44′19″N 7°25′09″E / 43.73861°N 7.41917°E / 43.73861; 7.41917
Owned bySNCF
Operated bySNCF
Line(s)Marseille–Ventimiglia railway
Platforms2
Tracks3
History
Opened7 December 1999
Services
Preceding station SNCF Following station
Nice-Ville
towards Paris-Lyon
TGV inOui
Seasonal service
Menton
Terminus
Preceding station TER PACA Following station
Cap-d'Ail 4 Cap-Martin-Roquebrune
towards Ventimiglia

History

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The railway line from Marseille reached Monaco in 1868. The first station in the Principality, originally named Monaco (Gare de Monaco), was located in La Condamine. The following year, a second station named Monte Carlo (Gare de Monte-Carlo), was opened in Monte Carlo quarter, directly below the Monte Carlo Casino. The first station in La Condamine was later renamed Monaco-Monte-Carlo (Gare de Monaco-Monte-Carlo) in the 1950s, after the building of a new tunnel bypassing the second station in Monte Carlo, which was closed in 1965.[1][2][3] The idea to relocate the railway and bypass Monte Carlo station was conceived by Rainier III to reclaim valuable land for development.[4]

In the early 1990s, it was again decided to re-route the railway (this time, completely underground) and build a new station back closer to the center of Monaco. Construction commenced in 1993 on the station in the ward of Ravin de Sainte-Dévote; the new station opened on 7 December 1999, replacing the former surface Monaco-Monte-Carlo station from then on.[3] This comprises a curved tunnel 466 metres (1,529 ft) in length, 22 metres (72 ft) wide and 13 metres (43 ft) in height. There are three tracks through the station (accessed from a side platform on the south side) and an island platform between the two tracks to the north.

Monte-Carlo Country Club halt

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A single platform halt is located at the eastern end of the Monaco tunnel, over the Monaco border in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. It provides access to the Monte-Carlo Country Club (also itself located in France) and is only operational during the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament each April. It is served by TER services between Cannes and Ventimiglia.[5][6] Its platform is located on the southern side of the line.

Train services

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The majority of trains serving Monaco-Monte-Carlo are local TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur services between Marseille-Saint-Charles and Ventimiglia in Italy, close to the France–Italy border. There are also a small number of TGV services from the Gare de Lyon in Paris.

The station is served by the following services:[7][8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Railways in Monaco (sinfin.net)
  2. ^ (in French) See also: fr:Schéma de la ligne de Marseille-Saint-Charles à Vintimille (frontière)
  3. ^ a b (in French) History of Monaco station from the official site
  4. ^ Auzias, Dominique; Labourdette, Jean-Paul; et al. (2013). Le Petit Futé: Monaco (in French). Paris: Petit Futé. ISBN 978-2-7469-6628-4..
  5. ^ "Comme chaque année, la SNCF propose une halte proche du Monte-Carlo Country Club".
  6. ^ "Halte SNCF du Monte-Carlo Country Club".
  7. ^ Rechercher une fiche horaire, TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, accessed 16 May 2022.
  8. ^ La carte du réseau TER SUD, TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, accessed 16 May 2022.
  9. ^ Monaco-Monte-Carlo station at "Gares & Connexions", the official website of SNCF (in French)
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