Description

Originally opened in 1859 as a freight station,[2] the station was constructed in 1978 as part of the new Part-Dieu urban neighborhood project. As the planners intended Part-Dieu to act as a second city center for Lyon, the large train station was built in conjunction with a shopping center (the largest in France), a major government office complex, and the tallest skyscraper in the region, nicknamed Le Crayon (The Pencil) due to its shape. Before the construction of the Gare de la Part-Dieu, the neighborhood was served by the Gare des Brotteaux. It closed in 1982 and its operations were absorbed into this station.

In spring 2018, major reconstruction and refurbishment works began to rebuild the entire station and its near surroundings by 2022.[3] As of December 2018, the former entrance building has been already partly torn down. Eurobandas S.A. took part in the project by supplying +4000m2 Blanco Alba granite cut to size in 40mm thickness.