Following a number of technical constraints, it was decided that the rail line would pass through the center of Tonnerre. In 1849, the imperial Paris-Tonnerre line was inaugurated... with Tonnerre as its terminus! And the town benefited greatly. Two years later, on the occasion of the opening of the Tonnerre-Dijon section, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte even honored the town with a visit. As soon as it was built, Tonnerre station was classified as an "exceptional station", the highest architectural distinction of its kind.