Toulouse. The twelve works of the Matabiau station
The Matabiau station is getting a makeover with spaces restricted by the works. Jean-Benoit Dufort, project director, reveals the secrets of the site
Not easy for regulars at Matabiau station. In the middle of the holiday departure period, the Juillettists must adapt to the restricted spaces and the new circulations in the main station of Toulouse and Occitanie. “Special signs in the station and announcements in the trains, as well as hostesses, make it possible to inform and guide travelers” in the station disrupted by the construction site, explains Jean-Benoit Dufort, director of the NéÔmatabiau project for SNCF Stations and Connections.
The venerable establishment created in 1865, enlarged and transformed in 1905 by Marius Toudoire, the architect of the Gare de Lyon in Paris or Saint-Jean in Bordeaux, needed a makeover in view of the expected arrival high speed. The renovation undertaken at the beginning of the year for a total budget of 42 million euros (financed for 22 million by SNCF Gares and Connections, a subsidiary of SNCF Réseau, and for 20 million by the State, the Occitanie region and Europe ) aims to improve accessibility and to create spaces for travelers and to respond to commercial demands for increased travellers.
Since January, the northern underpass has been closed, access to the platforms is via the only southern underpass. “We are going to double its width, from 4m50 to 9 meters, and allow access for people with reduced mobility (PRM) to each platform, with new lifts and escalators”, explains Jean-Benoit Dufort. “This is phase 3 of this work, which will end in August 2023,” continues the manager. “Phase 1 ended on April 13, 2022 with the delivery of the new sales space opposite the current metro entrance and the new heated and air-conditioned waiting room, and the toilet and lost and found areas as well as of the PRM waiting room studied with the associations”, adds Jean-Benoit Dufort, “phase 2 concerns the new passenger gallery and the commercial spaces, between halls 1 and 2, which should open in the summer of 2023. About fifteen national, regional and Toulouse commercial brands will offer, over an area of 2,700 m2, new types of shops and services: gifts, souvenirs, perfumery, quality sandwiches with local products… The fourth phase will begin in January 2023 with the renovation of halls 1 and 2, whose iron posts and Eiffel-type beams will be highlighted, in collaboration with the Regional Department of Cultural Affairs and the architect of the Buildings of France”.
The overall site, which extends over some 5,000 m2 and accommodates an average of 70 workers during the day and 30 at night, includes 10,000 hours of social integration work. It will be completed in September 2023, just in time for the Rugby World Cup.