Cannes La Bocca: first look at the future TER station, due in 2032
A 185-space car park over four levels, a 110-metre footbridge, planted forecourts: renderings of the new TER station set to replace the Cannes Marchandises rail site have emerged, as part of phase 2 of the Ligne nouvelle Provence Côte d'Azur. Entry into service expected by 2032.
Translated from the French original. Lire en français
The future TER station at Cannes La Bocca is coming into focus. In a feature published on 7 October, local news site Cannes Actus details the renderings of the project set to take over the current Cannes Marchandises rail site, as part of phase 2 of the Ligne nouvelle Provence Côte d'Azur (LNPCA). The project's official website, run by SNCF Réseau, confirms the broad outlines: a genuine multimodal transport hub, with entry into service scheduled for 2032.
A multimodal hub between La Roubine and boulevard du Midi
The project calls for a main passenger building to the north, along avenue de la Roubine, with shops, plus a second entrance on the sea side, from boulevard du Midi. A 110-metre urban footbridge will link the two sides of the district and serve the platforms directly via lifts and staircases. Two planted forecourts will frame the site on either side of the tracks, and SNCF also promises a landscaped park along the tracks on the Roubine side.
On intermodality, the programme is substantial: a 185-space car park over four levels north of the site, drop-off zones, taxi ranks, bus stops including the Palm Express C and lines 11, 14 and 22, and cycle parking. The future station will have four tracks and 220-metre platforms; two central tracks will let shuttle trains turn around without blocking other traffic. The aim is clear: to ease daily travel on a saturated coastal corridor and offer a credible alternative to the car for workers in the west of the département.
A 1.2-kilometre tunnel for the Grasse line
Another major work package in the area is the removal of the level crossing between Cannes and Grasse services. To smooth traffic, SNCF will build a 1.2-kilometre underground track, topped with a planted slab, under which trains from Marseille will pass beneath the Grasse line and the Font de Veyre watercourse. The current Cannes Marchandises site will not disappear: it will 'retain its existing activities (maintenance, stabling, works base)', SNCF says, as quoted by Cannes Actus.
Cannes-Centre to be transformed too
Cannes-Centre station will also, according to Cannes Actus, get a makeover: a fourth track, a new platform, a second entrance on the Mimont side, a thorough modernisation of the subways and a shifted central platform, shortened to 220 metres to optimise space. According to Cannes Actus, construction is still expected to start in 2027, with the new station entering service by 2032.
The project sits within LNPCA phase 2, a 3.6-billion-euro programme backed by the French state, Europe and local authorities, according to Cannes Actus. The stated goal: 'to offer better rail services, better connect transport modes and ease daily travel across the Côte d'Azur'. For La Bocca residents, the wait will be long, but the face of their future station is now known.
