The LGV Picardie is a proposed 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 running 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

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, via

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, in Northern France. When the

LGV Nord The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord (North High-Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French -long high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille. With a maximum speed ...

was planned, the residents of the city of Amiens in the

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

region campaigned for the line to run through Amiens. The

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 ...

decided instead to build the new high-speed line on a more direct route between

and

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. The Picardy region is now served by the TGV Haute Picardie station, though this has been criticised for its lack of intermodal connections, summarised by the saying, ''la gare des betteraves'' ("station in a beetroot field"). The LGV Picardie would presumably deviate from the existing line north of the

Gare du Nord The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital ...

and proceed directly to a new junction with the Calais branch of the LGV Nord to the east of

Calais-Fréthun station Calais-Fréthun station ( French: ''Gare de Calais-Fréthun'') is an SNCF international railway station in the suburbs of Calais, France. It is one of four stations serving the town; the others are Calais-Ville in the town centre, Fontinettes i ...

. It is unclear how Amiens itself would be served, though the cheaper and more likely option would be to use existing infrastructure. Twenty minutes would be saved on the journey between Paris and Calais, thus making it possible to travel from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to Paris (

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

) in under two hours. An additional benefit would be to relieve congestion on the

itself. The French government have announced their SNIT future investment plans that are to be built by 2030, and for the first time the LGV Picardie is now included for implementation between 2020 and 2030, project to cost €4.8bn, via either Amiens or Rouen.

References

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Picardie Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hist ...

Proposed railway lines in France

See also

References