The former Martainville station

Although the railways developed at the beginning of the 19th century in the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium, it was not until 1840 that they were extended to France, not least because of the heavy investment required for reconstruction following the Napoleonic wars.

Granted to the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord, created in 1845 by Baron James de Rothschild, the 115 km of the Amiens-Rouen line, plus the Montérolier Clères branch line to the Rouen-Dieppe line, were dedicated to goods and passenger traffic.

The choice of terminus was divisive: the Rue-Verte station was preferred by the city of Le Havre and the Compagnie de l'Ouest, while the Saint-Hilaire district was preferred by the city of Rouen and the Compagnie du Nord.

The decree of 27 December 1862 gave preference to the second project and the terminus was named "Gare Martainville". Put into service in April 1867, the 115 km were covered in 3 hours 50 minutes (compared with 1 hour 30 minutes at present) and in 5 hours for the Clères Montérolier route, at an average speed of 35 km/h, a very honourable performance for the steam locomotives of the time.

The isolation of the station soon became a major drawback. This was remedied by the connection to the Rouen Rive Droite station around 1880 and then, 10 years later, by the extension of the tracks to the right bank of the port, thus limiting the transit of heavy horse-drawn carriages through the town.

While freight traffic was important, passenger traffic was very low. For economic reasons, they were transferred in 1935 to the Rouen Rive Gauche station for the former and the Rouen Rive Droite station for the latter.

The station and part of the adjoining land were included in the perimeter of the Chu, when it was extended during the 1980s and 1990s. After several phases of deconstruction, it was definitively destroyed in 1985, making way for the Gambetta 1 and 2 buildings and, a little later, Gambetta 3.

Only its clock, visible at point 9 of the tour, can still bear witness to this past.