'Gare de Cherbourg' is the
railway station of the city of
Cherbourg,
France.
On
5 September 1850, the president
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte visited Cherbourg and demanded the continuation of work on the Arsenal. He also demanded the construction of a railway line linking Cherboug to
Paris. The construction of the line was approved in
1852.
The station was opened on
4 August 1858 by
Napoleon III who arrived on the imperial train from
Paris.
At the time of opening, the trip to Paris took ten hours and cost 22.85 FrF for a third class ticket and 41.55 FrF for a first class ticket.
Queen Victoria visited the city and its station the same day and took part in the grandiose celebrations. The third dock of the
Cherbourg Arsenal, 1 200 000m³ in size, was opened and a steam ship immediately sailed from it.
At the end of the day, a statue of
Napoleon I on a horse by
Armand Le Véel was unveiled.