From the iconic Place Masséna, in the heart of the Coulée Verte, to the new living space that will be the Gare du Sud, an important and ambitious program of urban renovation and improvement is underway.
The goal is to structure this major city area through numerous development and requalification operations, with excellence and exemplarity in sustainable development as the ultimate aim.
The multimodal exchange hub operation at Gare Thiers, at the heart of this structured complex, fully aligns with the vision for the future city center of Nice Côte d’Azur. This operation is essential for the renovation and revitalization of the sector, both in its Reference Development dimension and its Transport/Intermodality dimension, fundamental to any urban reorganization.
The Multimodal Exchange Hub at Gare Thiers
Gare Thiers, inaugurated in 1867 in a landscape of open countryside, symbolized through its very Parisian architecture, the union of Nice with France. It has scarcely changed since.
Currently, Gare Thiers accommodates 7 million travelers per year and is situated at the nerve center of the TER network of the Côte d’Azur, the second in France, after Île-de-France.
Indeed, while there were 60 TER per day in 2006, there are more than 110 TER per day in 2010, and close to 180 TER per day are projected with the PACA high-speed rail (2023).
Given this observation and above all, considering the ongoing railway development projects (PACA high-speed rail, development of high-speed rail links in France—TGV Rhin-Rhône etc., increased frequency of TER), the role of Gare Thiers is more crucial than ever: by 2020, over 11 million annual travelers are expected, along with tramway users who already represent more than 20% of the station’s passengers.
A Strong Political Will
A comprehensive deliberation on the conditions for developing Gare Thiers and its surroundings unanimously approved the Multimodal Exchange Hub project.
This hub will be perfectly complementary to the Multimodal Exchange Hub at St-Augustin, enabling Nice and the Côte d’Azur to have two major hubs necessary for economic and human activities development.
The Project
This project is organized around four major objectives:
- improve the comfort and safety of travelers within the station and its surroundings,
- enhance intermodality through a complete redevelopment of the station’s services and promote soft modes of transport,
- create a direct, entirely pedestrian link between the station and the tram stop on Avenue Jean Médecin,
- make the station and platforms completely accessible to all.
Funding plan: 60.2 million € (•NCA: 15.2 million €
•CG 06: 9.9 million €
•CR PACA: 16 million €
•SNCF- G&C: 16.4 million €
•RFF: 2.7 million €), plus FEDER funding (1,529,000 €) and State-Region Project Contract (229,000 €) will facilitate the development of the Villeneuve-Durante underground passage (north access to the station), without increasing the financial contribution of project co-financiers.
The Schedule
First phase of the project: by 2013
•Inauguration of the fully pedestrianized forecourt and its extension to the tram stop on Avenue Jean Médecin,
•Creation of a pedestrian access in the West wing of the Passenger Building in connection with the future drop-off point,
•Redevelopment of the East wing of this building.
Second phase of the project: by 2015
•Raising of the platforms,
•Doubling of access to the existing West underground passage,
•Construction of the new distribution footbridge for platforms and access to the passenger building,
•Complete redevelopment of the Passenger Building.
