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The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord (North High-Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French -long
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, opened in 1993, that connects
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 ...
to the Belgian border and the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
via
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 ...
. With a maximum speed of , the line appreciably shortened rail journeys between Paris and Lille. Its extensions to the north (
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
) and the south (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 ...
) have reduced journey times to Great Britain and
Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
and for inter-regional trips between the Nord (Pas de Calais) region and the southeast and southwest of France. Its route is twinned with the A1 for , which is why it was given its official nickname, the ''A1 Highway''. As it is mostly built in flat areas, the maximum incline is 25 metres per kilometre (2.5‰). Of all French high-speed lines the LGV Nord sees the widest variety of high-speed rolling stock: the
TGV POS The TGV POS is a TGV train built by French manufacturer Alstom which is operated by the French national rail company, the SNCF, in France's high-speed rail lines. It was originally ordered by the SNCF for use on the new LGV Est, which was put in ...
,
TGV Réseau 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
TGV Duplex The TGV Duplex is a French high-speed train of the TGV family, manufactured by Alstom, and operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It is unique among TGV trains in that it features bi-level carriages. The Duplex inaugurated the t ...
, Eurostar e300,
Eurostar e320 The British Rail Class 374, also referred to as the Eurostar e320, is a type of electric multiple unit passenger train used on Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel to serve destinations beyond the core routes to Paris and Brussels. The ...
,
Thalys PBA Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via Li ...
and PBKA as well as the local trains. Traffic is controlled by the Lille rail traffic centre.


Route

The LGV Nord begins at
Arnouville-lès-Gonesse Arnouville () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. Previously known as Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, the name was officially renamed to Arnouville on 11 July 2010. Population Education Public primary s ...
, from 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 ...
on the
Paris–Lille railway The railway from Paris to Lille is an important French 251-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the northern French city Lille. Branch lines offer connections to Belgium and Great Britain. As one of the first railway lines in France ...
line. At Vémars, 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 ...
joins it via a triangular junction, leading to
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
and Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy; this enables direct trains from London and
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
to
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...
, as well as the southern destinations (
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 ...
,
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
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 ...
) After passing east of the forest of
Ermenonville Ermenonville () is a commune in the Oise department, northern France. Ermenonville is notable for its park named for Jean-Jacques Rousseau by René Louis de Girardin. Rousseau's tomb was designed by the painter Hubert Robert, and sits on the Isl ...
over the viaduc de Verberie, it joins the A1 around Chevrières and accompanies it to the
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 ...
suburbs. At Ablaincourt-Pressoir ( Somme), a new station,
Gare TGV Haute-Picardie Haute-Picardie TGV station ( French: ''Gare de TGV Haute-Picardie'') is a railway station on the LGV Nord-Europe between Lille and Paris. Geographically, it is located about west of Péronne, between the towns of Saint Quentin and Amiens, in the ...
, is served only by inter-regional TGVs. At Croisilles, Pas-de-Calais, a junction leads to the
Agny Agny () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography A farming village located 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Arras, at the D3 and D60 road junction. History World War I 1914–1918. War broke out in August 1914 ...
link towards
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
. The LGV crosses the
A1 autoroute The A1 Autoroute, also known as l'autoroute du Nord (the Northern Motorway), is the busiest of France's autoroutes. With a length of , it connects Paris with the northern city of Lille. It is managed by the Société des Autoroutes du Nord et d ...
at
Seclin Seclin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Notable residents * Andre Ayew, Ghana national football team footballer *Victor Mollet, architect *Jonathan Rouss ...
( Nord). At
Fretin Fretin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is in the south of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Fretin junction It contains the ''Fretin triangle'', a high speed flying junction joining the HSL 1 railway line from B ...
, a triangular junction links the LGV to the Lille-
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
HSL 1 The HSL 1 (french: Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV) 1, nl, Hogesnelheidslijn 1, en, High-Speed Line 1) is a high-speed rail line which connects Brussels, Belgium, with the LGV Nord at the Belgium–France border. It is long with of dedicated hig ...
high-speed line eastwards, crossing the border at
Wannehain Wannehain is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France, on the border with Belgium. The HSL 1 railway line to Brussels crosses the border at Wannehain. Heraldry Popu ...
and joining the conventional network at
Lembeek Lembeek is a village with a population of 7,256 in the municipality of Halle, Belgium. Location South-west of Halle, it is close to the language border between the Flemish Region and Wallonia. The Castle of Lembeek was demolished by request of ...
, south of Brussels. After the Fretin junction, the LGV has a connection to the conventional network at
Lezennes Lezennes () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in ...
, near Lille. This junction is used for TGVs terminating at Lille, which use Lille-Flandres. TGVs that continue beyond Lille, as well as some
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 ...
services, stop at
Lille-Europe Lille-Europe station (French: ''Gare de Lille-Europe'') is a SNCF railway station in Lille, France, on the LGV Nord high-speed railway. The station is primarily used for international Eurostar and long-distance SNCF TGV services, although some h ...
instead. Non-stop Eurostars pass through a tunnel under the city of Lille at . The line passes south of
Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...
and north of
Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, nl, Hazebroek, , vls, Oazebroeke) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1 ...
. At Cassel, a link provides a connection with
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.A26 autoroute at Zouafques and ends at Calais-Fréthun, at the
Eurotunnel Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle train service, and earns revenue on ...
terminal. This enables TGV service to
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 ...
and Eurostars through the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
to London. The TGVs continue to Calais-Ville or reverse in either Calais stations and go on to
Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
and Étaples-Le Touquet and Rang-du-Fliers-Verton. The route was much criticised, particularly by those 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. The LGV crosses the region without a stop;
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 particular would have liked to have been on the line. The government judged a route via Amiens to be impracticable, as the Lille route demanded a straight line between Paris and Lille in order to give a reasonable Paris-Lille-London journey time. The
LGV Picardie The LGV Picardie is a proposed French high-speed rail line running between Paris and Calais, via Amiens, in Northern France. When the LGV Nord was planned, the residents of the city of Amiens in the Picardy region campaigned for the line to ru ...
project would address this issue by serving Amiens, and would reduce the Paris–London journey time to less than 2 hours.


Stations

The LGV Nord serves the following stations: *
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 ...
(Paris) *
Gare TGV Haute-Picardie Haute-Picardie TGV station ( French: ''Gare de TGV Haute-Picardie'') is a railway station on the LGV Nord-Europe between Lille and Paris. Geographically, it is located about west of Péronne, between the towns of Saint Quentin and Amiens, in the ...
1 *
Gare d'Arras Arras station ( French: ''Gare d'Arras'') is a railway station serving the town Arras, Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. This station, which opened in 1846, is located on the Paris–Lille railway and Arras-Dunkirk railway and accessi ...
² * Gare de Lille-Europe *
Gare de Calais-Fréthun 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 * ...
1 Haute-Picardie station has been nicknamed "Gare des Betteraves" or "Beetroot Station," since it is located in the middle of nowhere and is only accessible by good road connections.
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 ...
wanted a station closer to the town centre, stopping at
Gare d'Amiens Amiens station (locally known as: ''Gare du Nord'') is the main railway station for the Northern French city of Amiens. History The station opened on 15 March 1847 when the line to Abbeville started passenger operations. It was razed by German she ...
.
² Arras station is reached via a branch of the LGV Nord that splits off near the village of Croisilles.


History

* * * * * * * The line was designed to facilitate European connections. The foreseen opening of the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
made it a project of the utmost urgency, leading to an acceleration of work. It opened in 1993, a year before the tunnel, from Arnouville to Fréthun; the Belgian section followed in 1997.


Services

''Journey times and daily train frequency'':


From Paris

* Paris–
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 ...
1:00/24 * Paris–
Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...
1:09/10 * Paris–
Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
1:42/10 * Paris–
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
0:49/9 * Paris–
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
1:05/7 * Paris–
Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...
1:15/7 * Paris–
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 ...
1:23/5 * Paris–
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
1:40/1 * Paris–
St-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
1:56/1 * Paris–
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
1:57/1


Inter-regional

*
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 ...
–Lille 2:48/11 * Lyon–
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
2:46/3 * Lyon–
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
3:40/2 *
Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
–Lille 3:53/4 *
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...
–Lille 3:49/4 *
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 ...
–Lille 5:00/5


International

* Paris – London 2:15 * Paris –
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
1:20 *London - Marne-la-Vallee - Chessy (for
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...
) 2:43 *
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 ...
- Marseille: 6:28 * Paris –
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
2:10 * Paris –
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
3:14 * Paris –
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
3:18 *
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 ...
– London 1:20 *Amsterdam - London - 3:55


Future services

At present, only Deutsche Bahn has applied for use of the line and in 2009 regulations were relaxed to allow its trains to use the Channel Tunnel. Other proposals are yet to be formalised.


Deutsche Bahn

In 2009,
Eurotunnel Getlink, formerly Groupe Eurotunnel, is a European public company based in Paris that manages and operates the infrastructure of the Channel Tunnel between England and France, operates the Eurotunnel Shuttle train service, and earns revenue on ...
(the owners of the Channel Tunnel) announced that it was prepared to start relaxing the
fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...
regulations, in order to permit other operators, such as Deutsche Bahn, to transport passengers via the Tunnel using other forms of rolling stock via LGV Nord. Under the deregulation of European railway service, high-speed lines were opened up to open access on 1 January 2010; the Inter-Governmental Commission on the Channel Tunnel (IGC) announced that it was considering relaxing the safety requirements concerning train splitting. LCR suggested that high-speed rail services between London and Cologne could commence before the 2012 Olympics. As of March 2010 Eurotunnel,
High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...
, DB and other interested train operators formed a working group to discuss changes to the safety rules, including allowing DB's trains through the tunnel on a Frankfurt to London service. Deutsche Bahn hope to run an ICE 3 train through the Channel Tunnel on 19 October 2010, in preparation for possible future operations. The current Velaro
ICE3 ICE 3, or Intercity-Express 3, is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains operated by Deutsche Bahn. It includes classes 403, 406, 407 and 408, which are known as ICE 3, ICE 3M, New ICE 3 and ICE 3neo respectively. Three multisyst ...
sets do not meet the fire safety requirements necessary for the carriage of passengers through the Channel Tunnel, but the Siemens Velaro D sets on order include the necessary additional fire-proofing. DB are considering a Frankfurt to London service which could start in 2020 taking about 4 to 5 hours with stops at Cologne and Brussels. The ICE 4 trains that are planned to be used on the route are yet to be given their permit to travel at speed through northern France and Belgium, increasing the time it will take for this service to come in fruition, but DB now allegedly plan to start a dual service. This would entail the use of two ICE 4 trains tethered together, travelling as far as Brussels Midi, before splitting, where one train will carry on to Amsterdam via Rotterdam and the other to Frankfurt via Cologne.


Veolia

In September 2008,
Air France-KLM The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
indicated a desire to take advantage of the change in the law and apply to run rail services. However, in October 2009, Air France withdrew its interest. This led to Veolia looking for new partners, with the announcement that it would begin working on new proposals in cooperation with
Trenitalia Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
to run services from Paris to Strasbourg, London and Brussels.


Renfe

Spanish railway operator RENFE has also shown an interest in running
AVE ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
services from Spain to London via Paris,
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 ...
, Barcelona and Madrid via its
AVE ''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
network which is connected to France via the Barcelona to Figueras and Perpignan to Figueras lines.


See also

*
High-speed rail in France The first French high-speed rail line opened in 1981, between Paris's and Lyon's suburbs. The LGV Sud-Est was at that time the only high-speed rail line in Europe. As of June 2021, the French high-speed rail network comprises 2,800 km of '' ...


Notes


External links

*
Information on LGVs
{{coord, 49.9091, 2.8489, display=title Nord Eurostar Standard gauge railways in France Railway lines opened in 1993 Railway lines in Île-de-France Railway lines in Hauts-de-France Cross-border railway lines in France