“Useless”, “creepy”, “weird people”… Welcome to the least busy RER A station

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Achères-Grand-Cormier in Yvelines is perceived as the “most useless and strangest RER A” station by one line userwho recently shared this point of view on the social network

On closer inspection, it is true that it has nothing in common with forty-five other stations of the RER A which crosses Paris, its little and its great suburbs. Already, it is by far the least frequented on the line, with 188,426 passengers recorded in 2023, according to data posted online by SNCF, i.e. an average of 516 per day, for two to five trains which stop per hour. . For comparison, Poissy, the terminus of the branch and the next station, sees around 32,550 people passing through each day.

The creation of parking spaces for bicycles under study

Located in the middle of the forest along the nationale 184it is only served by the night bus (Noctilien N152) and does not have a quick stop to get dropped off there. Two poor bicycle racks currently constitute the only parking available.

The creation of twenty-five places parking for two-wheelers is currently being studied in order to “reinforce the attractiveness” of this isolated station, reports the SNCF, which thus hopes to attract more Achèrois more inclined to take the train to Achères-Ville, connected to the Cergy (Val-d'Oise) branch of the RER.

When traffic on it is interrupted, residents of this town have also gotten into the habit of falling back here, as Léonard testifies in this thread: “In three years of daily use of the line Ait has been useful to me a good fifty times. »

This is where the trains to Saint-Lazare park

Others, however, discovered its existence through this post. “These photos don’t remind me of anything. Is there another station in Achere? », asks Prosciuto, while railway activity started in 1879 at this location, before declining sharply a hundred years later with the opening of Achères-Ville.

Another singularity, Achères-Grand-Cormier is located in a sort of no man’s land. Apart from the small suburban town of around twenty dwellings located below and a migrant center in the forest, there is no habitation for miles around.

But then who frequents this station, apart from the some walkers who benefit from its proximity to the woods? The vast majority of railway workers, because it is close to SNCF installations dedicated to maintenance, sorting and training. It is also here that trains assigned to Paris-Saint-Lazare are stationed.

A closed window

“I just finished my day. No bus stops there, so I take the RER to go home, says an SNCF agent crossed on the quay. We pick up the trains at Achères to reach Saint-Lazare empty and then provide service on different lines. »

After climbing a dilapidated staircase in the forest at the foot of which a few prostitutes work, then five good minutes walking along the main road, here we are, on a very gray Tuesday afternoon in December. Few people to meet and no staff to inform us, the counter being closed by a metal curtain which seems to have stood still for an eternity.

And narrow hallway in an arc with faded yellow walls leads to a series of steps overlooking the platforms. No turnstile, no elevator… This station has gone through certain developments in recent decades. It also remains the only one on the route not suitable for people with reduced mobility. The SNCF did not tell us if a project in this direction was on track.

“Sometimes I meet strange people in this station”

There is another access to the platforms, via a tunnel cramped, dimly lit in places and somewhat gloomy. “Sometimes I meet strange people at this station. Not long ago, someone wanted to extort my sneakers,” says Isaac, 19, living in the small neighboring town populated mainly by railway workers.

Besides, the atmosphere a little sinister which emerges from the premises is noted by Internet users. “This station is creepy at night. I imagine the travelers who missed their descent at Maisons-Laffitte and who have to wait, in the cold, in such an empty station,” says the author of the publication X in question.

Another oddity and not the least… It may have Achères in its name, but it is located in the territory of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. At the SNCF, we think we have the explanation: “Achères is the closest town served and Grand-Cormier is the name of the place where it is located. There are other examples in France with station names which do not necessarily correspond to the name of the locality. »

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