Abancourt is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
located in the commune of
Abancourt in the
Oise
Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...
department, in
Picardy
Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is primarily served by
TER Hauts-de-France
TER Hauts-de-France is the regional rail network serving the French administrative region of Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is owned and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER ne ...
trains.
Lines
The station is located at the
intersection
In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...
of:
* the
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
-
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
cross-country main line, electrified in 1984 at
25,000 volts and equipped with the restrained permissivity automatic blocking system
* the radial single-track
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
-
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris.
The Communes of France, commune o ...
-
Le Tréport-Mers line, using diesel locomotives
The station
History
The railway reached Abancourt in 1867 when the
Nord company built the line between Amiens and Rouen. The station was built approximately 1 km from the town, in the
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
of Hennicourt. Following test runs, the line entered service on 18 April 1867, with general service trains taking 3 hours 50 minutes to complete the run from Amiens to Rouen, at an average speed of 35 km/h.
[''Actes du 104e Congrès national des sociétés savantes, Bordeaux, 1979: Les transports de 1610 à nos jours'', volume 1, Bibliothèque nationale, 1980, ]
p. 300
The station was enlarged in 1873 when the stretch of line to
Longroy-Gamaches (towards Le Tréport-Mers) was opened, and again in 1875 for the Abancourt - Beauvais stretch.
Because of its location at the junction of two lines, as well as arrangements put in place during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the station has approximately ten
siding
Siding may refer to:
* Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house
* Siding (rail)
In rail terminology, a siding is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch lin ...
s, in addition to facilities for serving an agricultural silo.
During the Second World War
Because of its key position in the rail network (between
Nord
Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to:
Acronyms
* National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization
* New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Film and televisi ...
,
Picardy
Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
), the
German army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
made use of the Abancourt station.
Anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
railcars were used to protect convoys. The station was bombed multiple times by squadrons of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
.
Reinforced concrete shelters remain in place today beside the sidings.
Today
The station is served by
TER Normandie
Nomad Train, before 2020 known as TER Normandie is the network of the regional train services organised by the region of Normandy (northwestern France) and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. The brand name refers to the more ge ...
and
TER Hauts-de-France
TER Hauts-de-France is the regional rail network serving the French administrative region of Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is owned and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER ne ...
trains on the lines between
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris.
The Communes of France, commune o ...
and
Le Tréport-Mers and between
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
and
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
and
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
.
[
The line was electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz alternating current on 27 August 1984 (]freight
In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...
lines and branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
s continuing to use diesel), and the restrained permissivity automatic blocking system was installed on the line, offering increasingly less satisfactory service with respect to the growing mixed passenger-goods traffic on the line since the 1990s.
The station is one of the few on the 139 km long line which are still important; according to the SNCF it averaged 95 passengers per operating day in 2003.[Compte rendu]
, Comité de ligne Amiens/Rouen, SNCF, 8 novembre 2004, p. 2 (pdf) One of the peculiarities of this line is that goods traffic is far more important than passenger traffic. In 1992-93 8,000 tonnes of freight were transported daily on the line, 60% in the Amiens-Rouen direction. This is explained by the industrial importance of the two regions linked by the line and by the ports of Rouen and Le Havre
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
at the Rouen end. On the other hand, passenger demand is weak but tends to be focussed by the express TER
Ter or TER may refer to:
Places
* River Ter, in Essex, England
* Ter (river), in Catalonia
* Ter (department), a region in France
* Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy
* Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...
Rouen - Amiens - Arras
Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
- Douai
Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...
- Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
axis.
In 2008 the station underwent renovations as part of a programme of increasing accessibility on the Beauvais - Abancourt stretch of line. The platforms were enhanced and passenger use and information facilities (lighting, signage, shelters, clocks, and ticket machines) were replaced. An audiovisual information system was to be installed in addition. The station approaches and parking facilities were to be modernised.
A TER demand responsive transport
Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...
service has been put in place to enable residents of Moliens to use the station.
Points of interest
The station has a manual system of train signage on the platforms which uses sliding metal panels.
See also
* List of SNCF stations in Hauts-de-France
This article contains a list of current SNCF railway stations in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Aisne (02)
* Aguilcourt—Variscourt halt, Aguilcourt—Variscourt
* Amifontaine station, Amifontaine
* Anizy-Pinon station, Anizy-Pinon
* Bar ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abancourt Gare
Railway stations in Oise
Railway stations in France opened in 1867