The journey between Paris and Le Havre was often mentioned in literature, because the two cities are so close. In his poem “Dans le rapide de 9h40” (On the 9:40 Express Train), Blaise Cendrars (1887-1961) recalls his arrival at the train station in Le Havre, from where he will take a boat to Brazil.

At the end of Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), while he is about to take a train to leave Bouville, Roquentin claims he is between two cities, without belonging to any of them anymore. The character stays in the train station neighbourhood, at the Printania hotel, where Sartre used to stay himself. In a letter to Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), the author explains that he likes the station area.

In The Last Days by Raymond Queneau (1903-1976), several scenes are set on the train taking the characters from one city to the other.

In La Bête humaine (1890) (The Human Beast) by Zola, Le Havre is indirectly mentioned at the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris through all the street names referring to Le Havre, including when Jacques Lantier is chasing his first victim.

Jean Renoir (1894-1979) made the Le Havre train station part of the history of film by adapting La Bête humaine in 1938.