Designed by François-Alexis Cendrier, the "Gare de la Bastille" was one of Paris's earliest railway termini. In 1853, the French government decided that a strategic connection with the fort at Vincennes was desirable. The Compagnie du Chemin de Fer de Paris à Strasbourg was granted a concession to build the line, and a connecting line to Mulhouse. The Mulhouse line would share the "Gare de Strasbourg" (now the Gare de Paris-Est), but the "Ligne de Vincennes" would also create a new terminus close to the centre of Paris, the "Gare de la Bastille". In 1853, the company, now known as the Chemins de fer de l'Est (CF de l'Est), opened the -long line between Vincennes and La Varenne. The extension to Paris opened on 22 September 1859. and the line was soon carrying 6,000,000 passengers each year.