Versailles-Rive-Droite: station history
Served by: Transilien L.
Did you know?
A station in Versailles opened by the Société anonyme du chemin de fer de Paris à Saint-Cloud et Versailles, of which Émile Pereire was named director and whose capital was 82% held by the main shareholders of the Paris - Saint-Germain line. The initial project planned a building near the church of Notre-Dame and a goods station; the town opposed it, reminding that the ordinance provided for arrival at the boulevard de la Reine, and the terminus was set up at its present location. It stands at 126 metres above sea level, in the Notre-Dame district.
Anecdote
It is a dead-end station, one of the oldest on the French rail network, which has changed little since its inauguration and keeps its original passenger building, a single block perpendicular to the tracks. The tracks form two dead-end groups around a central platform, and turntables at the ends made it possible to turn the locomotives round. It was electrified by third rail in 1927, then by 25 kV overhead line in 1978. The sons of King Louis-Philippe inaugurated the line.
Around Versailles-Rive-Droite
- Église Notre-Dame, 650 m away — The château's parish church, built from 1743 in the town's oldest district.
- Salle du Jeu de paume, 600 m away — A hall of 1686, the site of the Revolution's oath, where the ancestor of tennis was played.
- Théâtre Montansier, 850 m away — An 18th-century Italian-style theatre, a short walk from the Carrés Notre-Dame and their market.