The LGV Rhône-Alpes (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: high-speed line) is a 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 situated in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region which extends the

LGV Sud-Est The LGV Sud-Est (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse Sud-Est''; English: ''South East high-speed line)'' is a French high-speed rail line which connects the Paris and Lyon areas. It was France's first high-speed rail line. The inauguration of th ...

southwards. Opened to service in 1994, the line bypasses the built-up

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

area towards the east; in addition it serves

Lyon-Saint-Exupéry TGV station Lyon-Saint-Exupéry TGV station (formerly ''Gare de Satolas TGV'') is a railway station near Lyon, France, directly attached to Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport. The station was built as an addition to the airport to serve TGV trains on the LGV Rhôn ...

(known until June 2000 as Satolas TGV station). Beyond

Valence TGV station Gare de Valence TGV ( IATA: XHK) is a railway station in Valence, France which offers regular TGV services. The station, located in eastern Valence ( Alixan), is about ten kilometres north-east from the town centre, allowing through trains to pass ...

the line is continued by the

LGV Méditerranée The LGV Méditerranée (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: Mediterranean high-speed line) is a French high-speed rail line running between Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence, Drôme and Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, also featuring a connecti ...

. LGVs Rhône-Alpes, Sud-Est and Méditerranée, when completed, received their official nickname, the ''City To Coast (C2C) Highway'' ("Ville à la Mer"). The line was constructed in two sections, north and south. The first section was opened in time for the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

Route

The line crosses four departments from north to south:

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

. The route of the new line represents a total length of 115 km; 42 km from

Montanay Montanay () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Metropolis of Lyon The following is a list of the 59 communes of the Lyon Metropolis, France France ( ...

Saint-Quentin-Fallavier Saint-Quentin-Fallavier is a commune in the Isère department, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in southeastern France. Geography Saint-Quentin Fallavier is located in Isère, at the boundary of the department of Rhône, along the A43 o ...

, and 73 km from Saint-Quentin-Fallavier to Valence. The line is connected to the regular network by links at Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, enabling links to

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

via

Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...

and

Modane Modane (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in southeastern France. The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise ...

Line specifics

The line has a surface area of 12.18 km² (in comparison Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport occupies the same area). Like the

, the line was designed for a nominal speed of 300 km/h, with a minimum curve radius of 4,000 m, and a space between

track centres The track spacing is the distance between the track centres of double-track railway lines. There are standard distances derived from the standard loading gauge in a country. For high-speed trains and in tighter curves that distance needs to be i ...

of 4.2 m. The second section is designed for 320 km/h. The line includes 10 large viaducts (total length 4.3 km), and 4 tunnels (total length 5.3 km). A command post named CCT (Commande centralisée des trains - Central Train Command) enables the continual monitoring of trains running on the entire line and to remotely control security installations. It is situated in Lyon, in an SNCF building near the

gare de Perrache Lyon-Perrache (french: gare de Lyon-Perrache) is a large railway station located in the Perrache district, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, France. The station was opened in 1857 and is located on the Paris–Marseille railway, Lyon–Geneva ra ...

Stations

The line comprises one new station:

Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry Gare is the word for "station" in French and related languages, commonly meaning railway station Gare can refer to: People * Gare (surname), surname * The Gare Family, fictional characters in the novel '' Wild Geese'' by Martha Ostenso Places * ...

, situated in the commune of

Colombier-Saugnieu Colombier-Saugnieu () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. Since 2008, Pierre Marmonier has been the mayor of Colombier-Saugnieu. He was re-elected in the 2020 municipal elections. Geography The river Bourbre forms part of ...

. This station, with its striking architecture, is the work of the Spanish architect

Santiago Calatrava Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951) is a Spanish architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter, particularly known for his bridges supported by single leaning pylons, and his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, whose sculpt ...

. It serves the

Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Lyon-Saint Exupéry), formerly known as ''Lyon Satolas Airport'' , is the international airport of Lyon, the third-biggest city in France and an important transport facility for the e ...

History

* 28 October 1989: declaration of public utility * 13 December 1992: service begins on 42 km first section between

and

* 3 July 1994: service begins on 73 km second section between

and

Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence (, literally ''Saint-Marcel near Valence''; oc, Sant Marçau de Valença) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population Geography The commune of Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence borders the cit ...

* 3 July 1994: inauguration of Gare de Lyon-Saint-Exupéry TGV * 7 June 2001: inauguration of

extending this line southwards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgv Rhone-Alpes Rhone-Alpes Railway lines opened in 1994