The LGV Atlantique (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: Atlantic high-speed line) is a

high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

line running from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(

Gare Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th and 15th arrondissements. The station opened in 1840, was rebuilt in 1852 and relocated in 1969 to ...

) to Western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It opened in 1989–1990 and comprises two stations:

Massy TGV station Massy TGV is a TGV railway station in Massy, France. Massy TGV is a new station, located in Île-de-France, was built for the LGV Atlantique. Thus certain trains serve at Montparnasse Station and this station simultaneously, although it is not pe ...

and

Vendôme-Villiers-sur-Loir TGV station Vendôme-Villiers-sur-Loir TGV is a high-speed railway station located in Vendôme and Villiers-sur-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, central France. The station was opened in 1990 and is located on the LGV Atlantique. The train services are operated by SNC ...

. It divides into two parts at

Courtalain Courtalain () is a former commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Commune nouvelle d'Arrou Commune nouvelle d'Arrou (, literally ''New Commune of Arrou'') is a commune in t ...

, one going westward to

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

(towards

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

and

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

), the second one going southwestward to

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

(and onward towards

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

). Both branches have been extended, by the

LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire The LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire (LGV BPL) is a French high-speed rail line running between Connerré, Sarthe near Le Mans and Cesson-Sévigné, Ille-et-Vilaine near Rennes. Studied as early as 1996, processes towards LGV Brittany-Pays de la L ...

and the

LGV Sud Europe Atlantique The LGV Sud Europe Atlantique (LGV SEA), also known as the LGV Sud-Ouest or LGV L'Océane, is a high-speed railway line between Tours and Bordeaux, in France. It is used by TGV trains operated by SNCF. It is an extension of the LGV Atlantique. ...

Route

The line leaves

to cross Paris's southern suburbs, partly under the Coulée Verte. This is a tunnel above which footpaths and recreational areas have been created, to reduce the effect of the LGV running through the area. The line at this point follows the route of the former railway line from

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

. TGVs coming from the north or southeast of France via the

LGV Interconnexion Est The LGV Interconnexion Est is a French high-speed rail line that connects the LGV Nord, LGV Est, LGV Sud-Est and LGV Atlantique through suburbs of Paris. Opened in 1994, it consists of three branches, which begin at Coubert: * west branch: tow ...

join the line at Massy. After the new

, the line passes through the

Villejust Villejust () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Villejust are known as ''Villejustiens''. See also *Communes of the Essonne department The following is a list of the 194 communes of t ...

tunnel and then follows the A10 motorway. Near the Saint-Arnoult

toll plaza A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

, the LGV turns south and leaves the motorway. The line then follows the ''ligne classique'' from Paris to

Vendôme Vendôme (, ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Loir-et-Cher, France. It is also the department's third-biggest Communes of France, commune with 15,856 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the ...

until the junction at

Stations

The LGV Atlantique serves the following stations: *

Paris Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large List of Paris railway stations, Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th and 15th arrondissement of Paris, 15th ar ...

* Massy TGV *

¹ * Vendôme TGV *

¹ Le Mans is located on the western branch of the LGV Atlantique.

History

* 1 January 1983: creation of

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

''new line no. 2'' committee * 25 May 1984: public utility declaration * 15 February 1985: official beginning of works at

Boinville-le-Gaillard Boinville-le-Gaillard () is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yvelines department An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree ...

* 1 July 1987: laying of first LGV Atlantique rail at Auneau * 24 September 1989: line opens from

Montrouge Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years. ...

to Connerré * 18 May 1990:

TGV world speed record The TGV (''Train à Grande Vitesse'', French for "High-Speed Train") holds a series of land speed records for rail vehicles achieved by SNCF, the French national railway, and its industrial partners. The high-speed trials are intended to ex ...

of 515.3 km/h * 25 September 1990: southwestern branch opens * 27 December 1990: baby born on a

TGV Atlantique The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est. 105 bi-current sets, numbered ...

train

Extensions

Extensions to both branches have been built. The western branch is augmented by the

project, resulting in a reduction of 37 minutes between Paris and Rennes. The Southern branch is augmented by the

project, resulting in a reduction of around 50 minutes to Tours and Bordeaux.http://www.eib.org/attachments/press/lgv-sud-europe-atlantique-en.pdf Both lines entered service in July 2017.

References

External links

High-speed rail lines site (in French)

Atlantique {{France-rail-transport-stub