The LGV Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, also referred to as the LGV PACA and LGV Côte d'Azur, 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 ...

project intended to extend 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 connect ...

which ends in

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 Fra ...

toward the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...

. It would offer faster journey times between

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

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 ...

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

and the north of the country than the

Marseille–Ventimiglia railway The Marseille–Ventimiglia railway (French: ''Ligne de Marseille-Saint-Charles à Vintimille''; Italian: ''Ferrovia Marsiglia-Ventimiglia'') is a French- Monégasque- Italian railway line. It opened in several stages between 1858 and 1872. It ...

, opened in the 19th century. The project is not currently funded and construction would begin around 2026 at the earliest.

Route

Three principal route options were considered, mainly concerning the alignment between

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

and

Draguignan Draguignan (; oc, Draguinhan) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of A ...

. * The option providing the most time saving between Nice and Avignon uses the speed of 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. Si ...

connection to offer the largest potential clientele base (to compete with one of the strongest internal air traffic routes) * The most northern route is the shortest between Avignon and Nice and may have a station serving the 'pole scientifique' close to

Cadarache Cadarache is the largest technological research and development centre for energy in Europe. It includes the CEA research activities and ITER. CEA Cadarache is one of the 10 research centres of the French Commission of Atomic and Alternative En ...

* The longest route passes by

and

, offering the quickest travel time between Marseille and Nice (1:10) Additional connections between the mediterranean coast between

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

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, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...

, Marseille, Nice and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and the southern cross route towards

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 fr ...

and

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 prefectu ...

would be affected; the new line would link Marseille to Genoa in 3:15, and Barcelona in 3:35 (thanks to the

LGV Perpignan-Figueres LGV may refer to: Transportation and vehicles * Large goods vehicle, Europe * Laser Guided Vehicle * Light goods vehicle, Hong Kong * '' Lignes à Grande Vitesse'', French high-speed rail lines: ** LGV Atlantique ** LGV Est ** LGV Interconnexio ...

). The final route alignment decision and its details were announced by French Ecology Minister

Jean-Louis Borloo Jean-Louis Marie Borloo (; born 7 April 1951) is a French politician who served as president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2012 to 2014. He also was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment in 2007 and Minister of ...

on 30 June 2009, opting for the longest route via Marseille, Toulon, and Nice.

Controversy

This project was subject to public debate between 21 February and 8 July 2005. There was much local opposition to the project, particularly by various environmental organisations. Additionally, differences of opinion due to the vested interests of the three

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

concerned (

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

, Var and

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, ...

) caused friction. Local elected officials have approved the project and the presidents of the general committees of the three departments have agreed to propose an alternative route in order to reconcile their respective positions.

Progress

The Conseil d’Orientation des Infrastructures (a council convened to examine future rail projects in France after the inauguration of

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

) recommended taking forward a new line between Marseille and Nice as a priority.

References

External links

Public debate site (in French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur High-speed railway lines in France Proposed railway lines in France

Route

Controversy

Progress

See also

References

External links