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 Cherbourg 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. ==Services==