TheCompagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (French pronunciation:[kɔ̃paɲideʃəmɛ̃dəfɛʁdəpaʁialjɔ̃ealameditɛʁane],lit. 'Railway Company of Paris to Lyon and the Mediterranean'), also known as theChemins de fer Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée or simplyPLM, established in 1857, was one of France’s mainrailway companies until thenationalization of all French railways and establishment of theSociété nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) on 1 January 1938.[1][2][3]
Established on 3 July 1857, the PLM grew between 1858 and 1862 from the amalgamation of the earlier Paris–Lyon andLyon–Méditerranée companies, as well as subsequently incorporating a number of smaller railways. The PLM operated chiefly in the Southeast of France, with a main line which connectedParis to theFrench Riviera by way ofDijon,Lyon andMarseille. The company was also the operator of railways inAlgeria.
The PLM was absorbed in 1938 into the majority state-ownedSociété nationale des chemins de fer français, and its network became the southeastern region of the SNCF.
The PLM commissioned poster artistRoger Broders, sponsoring his travel to theFrench Riviera and theFrench Alps so he could visit the subjects of his work. Lithographs of travel posters Broders rendered for PLM are still available commercially. Several of theirdraughtsmen went on to notable careers, includingAlfred Grévin andDavid Dellepiane.[4]
The PLM head office was the most opulent headquarters building of any of the French railway companies.[5] It was built in the late 1860s on the former grounds of theTivoli Garden, with main entrance at 88,rue Saint-Lazare.
As soon as theSNCF was created on 1 January 1938, the former PLM's head office became the new state company's headquarters.[6] The SNCF head office remained there until 1999 when it moved to a new building next to theGare Montparnasse.[7] The former PLM building was subsequently purchased by the insurance arm ofCrédit Agricole, renovated under plans by architect Anthony Béchu, and brandedLe Tivoli with reference to the site's pre-railway history.[8] From 2003 it became an office ofAxa then, from 2014, the head office of insurerCovéa.[9]
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48°52′33″N2°19′44″E / 48.875960°N 2.328807°E /48.875960; 2.328807
