Funny shape for a flagship...

[whole diary]

[stuving]

Over here, in the recent major refurbishment of Rennes station, all the ticket barriers were converted to scan QR^▸ (QR Code - Quick Response code) codes, which are printed on all of our tickets.

Rennes is our Brittany rail network's flagship station - being the regional capital - and currently the only one of our stations to feature ticket barriers...

Last time I was in the gare de Rennes was less than a year before its official opening in July 2019, but it was still a confusing mess, and you could not really see what was being built. Well, it was one of these:

That's from a piece with historical pictures of the old station

Funny-looking thing, eh? And from the air it certainly is a funny shape for a ship, flag or not, or indeed for a station:


Meanwhile, over in the other of the terrible twin cities, Nantes, they had to have a new station too. It opened last November, and is ... in a different style:


Remind you of anywhere? Like somewhere I will not be visiting this weekend, for example.

[Lee]

The official description of the Rennes station roof is as follows:

Composed of sculpted clouds evoking the mist of the Brocéliande forest, the ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) roof is light and ultra-resistant.

Allowing light to pass through, its 4 oblong tablecloths extend over 3,500 m² and rest on 18 tree posts in wood and metal injected with concrete.

Closer look video:



Virtual tour:



Timelapse video of station construction:

[stuving]

To be fair to Rennes, the triangular concourse over the station was part of the old new station (1992), and remained largely intact and in use throughout. The new bits wrap round it and replace the old new north and south station buildings. I guess it's meant to look sexy and modern, but unfortunately it reminds me of a certain kind of 1960s sci-fi novel covers.

[Lee]

To be fair to Rennes, the triangular concourse over the station was part of the old new station (1992), and remained largely intact and in use throughout. The new bits wrap round it and replace the old new north and south station buildings. I guess it's meant to look sexy and modern, but unfortunately it reminds me of a certain kind of 1960s sci-fi novel covers.

Yes, I can see why it wouldnt be everyone's cup of tea in that respect, and the ethos does quite strongly tend towards the very modern in the designs that are put forward. That said, mixing the historic with the new can be achieved, as the recent renovation of the Art Deco-inspired masterpiece Saint Brieuc station showed, a well-executed brief that certainly contributed to its 2nd place in the most recent French Best Stations competition.

Going back to Rennes, I guess my immediate colleagues and I tend to be more focused on what it does rather than how it looks - and there is no denying when you look at the videos that it does an awful lot in many ways, in terms of the passenger facilities, the integration opportunities with other modes, the wide range of commercial units available on site, the accessibility, and the associated regeneration of the surrounding area.

Certainly feedback from users of all of the above has tended to be very positive, which is encouraging.

[infoman]

Stayed at the Ibis hotel approx 2010 which is between the womans prison and the station.
Did enjoy the driverless metro trains though.