LA GARE

In 1866, the Pays de Retz was not yet served in the regional service of Nantes, so the prefect had a route studied that would pass through Les Moutiers from Nantes. He took the route that the stagecoaches used to take, three times a day in both directions (via Sainte-Pazanne, Saint-Hilaire-de-Chaléons, Bourgneuf-en-Retz, Les Moutiers-en-Retz, La Bernerie-en-Retz and Pornic). Work began in 1872, and the line was established in 1876. The line was first managed by the Compagnie des Chemins de fer nantais, then it was bought by the State. To come from Paris, passengers took the train at the Orsay station, then arrived at the Nantes-Orléans station where a shuttle bus took them to the Nantes-State station. There, they took the train of the Nantes-Pornic line. The trip took about 8 hours! The Moutiers station was completed in 1896, and was enlarged in 1906 with a small hall, an arbi for the goods shipped: wine and wheat produced in the town. Thanks to the railways and the paid vacations of 1936, the seaside resort took off: campsites were built and furnished rentals were very sought after. For a while, around 1960, the line only operated in the summer, but regular traffic resumed throughout the year in September 2001. In 1992, the station was sold by the SNCF to a private individual. It is now a private house. Les Moutiers is now a railway station. *Extracts from the book "Flâneries aux Moutiers-en-Retz" by Monique Albert.