What will the future Matabiau station look like, the work of which will take eighteen months?
In September 2023, the main hall of the Matabiau station in Toulouse will have found its old Eiffel-type metal beams, erected during its construction in 1905, but hidden for many years by the false ceilings. If this building since 1984 in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments will have regained its former splendor, it will above all have made a great leap forward in terms of accessibility and modernity.
This January 3, a vast 18-month project will start inside this nerve center of the SNCF where nearly 50,000 travelers pass through every day. So far this project NeôMatabiau, with a cost of 42 million euros, resulted in exterior works. Since last March, a space for the sale of liO and inOui tickets has been set up on the right of the station forecourt. While services, such as lost and found or assistance for people with reduced mobility, are grouped to the west of Hall 1, next to the car park. These two new spaces will be open next March.
Closure of the north underground in January
By then, the bulk of the work, and the most disturbing for users, will begin. From January, and until August 2023, the north underground passage, which connects the platforms to Hall 1 (former arrival hall) will be closed to be completely redone.
Widened, it will allow disabled people above all to be able to access the platforms without having to go through a technical gallery, as is currently the case. Elevators leading to the platforms will thus be generated, just like escalators. Accessibility which will be completed by the deployment of sound beacons to guide the visually impaired.
During this period, users will therefore mainly use the southern underground passage to take their train through hall 2 (ex-departure). Except those who take the TGV on the platform, on the parking side.
Creation of a new shopping gallery
Next April, it will be the turn of the gallery which has the two rooms to be closed until June 2023. It will be completely reconfigured to be transformed into a real commercial aisle, with shops on both sides of passage this again. “We are going to go from eight to fifteen stores and we are doubling the retail space. The offer will also be diversified, with the arrival of new brands, ”explains Dominique Lecluse, director of the Nematabiau project for Gares & Connexions.
Shops which will be enriched with a restaurant, of the “quality” station buffet, specify the project leaders. The big news is that it is located upstairs, above the shopping area, in an area until now reserved for SNCF agents. This 250 m2 space will have a panoramic view, both on the departure hall, thanks to the bay windows, and on the forecourt of the station. During the construction period, users will pass through the square to go from one hall to another.
Hall 2 (departure) completely revised and corrected
This new restaurant will completely change the appearance of Hall 2. It will also be renovated from January 2023 and for nine months. It will be widened, to find its initial configuration and its famous old cast iron piles and metal beams. It will gain in volume and brightness. And be configured to accommodate 150,000 travelers, or triple today, when the future metro line, then the LGV, come into service.
In hall 1, a rehabilitated and renovated historic day well. The glazing will also be doubled in order to have a better energy balance. And this work will also be an opportunity to return to modernity. Because all the installations, from the model of the boiler to the wear and tear of the escalators can be followed in normal times thanks to a digital 3D model.