![France_TGV](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/France_TGV.png)
The LGV Bordeaux–Toulouse is a 222 kilometre (138 mi) long future
French 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 reserved for passenger traffic between
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
. Its dual aim is:
* to ensure high-speed service of the Toulouse region through an extension of 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. ...
and reduce the journey time between
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 ...
and Toulouse to slightly over 3 hours.
* in a more distant and less defined future, to be part of a proposed "Southern Link", connecting the Atlantic and Mediterranean from
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
to
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
via Toulouse,
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
and
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
.
Construction of the line is expected to start in 2024 with service starting in 2030.
Features
The project was the subject of preliminary studies between 2002 and 2004 by
RFF.
These proposed:
* serving Bordeaux and Toulouse through their existing central stations (Bordeaux St-Jean and Toulouse Matabiau)
* stops at
Agen
The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux.
...
and
Montauban
Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...
, either through their existing stations, or by the creation of new stations on the high-speed line.
* a route between Agen and Toulouse following the
Garonne
The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna
or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...
valley and the
A62 autoroute
The A62 autoroute is a French motorway forming part of the ''Autoroute de Deux Mers'' (Two Seas Motorway). The entirety of the route forms the entirety of European route E 72, which is a part of the inter-European road system. The route of ...
.
* three route options between Bordeaux and Agen: to the north of the Garonne valley; running along the valley; to the south, passing by
Captieux
Captieux (; oc, Capsiuts) is a commune of Southwestern France, located in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine).
It lies near the border with the Landes and the Lot-et-Garonne departments.
The commune is in the ...
. This third option, currently favoured, would permit a common first section between the LGV Bordeaux–Toulouse and the extension of 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. ...
from Bordeaux via
Dax
Dax or DAX may refer to:
Business and organizations
* DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies
** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX
** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms
* Dax ...
to the Spanish border. Additionally, it would permit calling directly at
Mont-de-Marsan
Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Population
Military installations
The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...
and would offer direct access to the towns of the Pyrenees area (
Pau,
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Château ...
,
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba'' ...
).
Short term plans do not include a bypass of the Bordeaux area; TGVs providing the
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 ...
-
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
service would go through the Bordeaux St-Jean station. The line would begin Southwest of
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
at Hourcade and rejoin the existing network Northwest of Toulouse at St-Jory. The Bordeaux shunt project (
Libourne
Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émil ...
-
La Réole
La Réole (; oc, La Rèula) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Geography
La Réole is located on the right bank of the Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux by rail. La Réole station has rail conne ...
) seems somewhat incompatible with the common section option.
Line speed will be 320 km/h, enabling a journey time of 59 minutes between Bordeaux and Toulouse, and of 3:14 between Paris and Toulouse (3:07 without a stop at Bordeaux).
Service is planned to begin around 2030, for a cost of approximately 3 billion Euro.
Progress
The public inquiry into the project ended 25 November 2005. This revealed:
* a broad consensus in favour of the project at Agen, Montauban and Toulouse. The arguments advanced included access to the high-speed network for Toulouse and the Garonne Valley, the wish to develop rail as a less polluting transport option, and the need to address the saturation of
Toulouse–Blagnac Airport
Toulouse–Blagnac Airport (french: Aéroport de Toulouse–Blagnac) is an international airport located west northwest of Toulouse, partially in Blagnac, both ''communes'' of the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of France. I ...
by transferring air passengers towards rail. The continuation of the project up to
Narbonne
Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
was also cited.
* some opposition from the southern
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
area and particularly the
Captieux
Captieux (; oc, Capsiuts) is a commune of Southwestern France, located in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine).
It lies near the border with the Landes and the Lot-et-Garonne departments.
The commune is in the ...
region, where residents who will benefit little from the line feared the destruction of natural sites and preferred an upgrade of the existing line. The delegates from Aquitaine prioritized the extension of 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. ...
to the Spanish border over this link to Toulouse.
On 13 April 2006, the
RFF administrative committee decided to continue its studies, taking into account the conclusions of the public inquiry. It agreed on a new station to serve Montauban, and deferred to more detailed studies the choice between building a new station for Agen or upgrading the existing station. The different options between Bordeaux and Agen were to be thoroughly investigated to determine the route after the public inquiry on the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique line is completed.
The
French Government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
unveiled on 30 April 2008 the first of three draft laws which grant it the right to purchase land through
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
and actively seek bidders to build the LGV Bordeaux–Toulouse line. Funding for the line would have come as part of a massive programme of expansion of
High Speed Lines in France, totalling 2,000 km of additional high-speed rail by 2020. That program was later descoped in the face of budgetary difficulties, but the Bordeaux–Toulouse line seemed likely to survive but unlikely to be constructed before 2030.
In April 2021, Prime Minister
Jean Castex
Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served f ...
announced €4.1 billion in French government funding, slightly over half the estimated total cost of the project. The European Union was expected to contribute €1.5-€2 billion toward the project, and the
Occitanie region around €1 billion. Construction is expected to start in 2024, and service in 2030.
The various funding stakeholders reached a binding financial agreement in February 2022.
See also
*
TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
*
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. ...
References
External links
Réseau ferré de France (in French)LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse Commission (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:LGV Bordeaux-Toulouse
Bordeaux-Toulouse
Proposed railway lines in France