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 the first section between Saint-Florentin and Sathonay-Camp by President François Mitterrand on 22 September 1981 marked the beginning of the re-invigoration of French passenger rail service.

Other LGV projects have extended the reach of high-speed trains that use this line, including the LGV Rhône-Alpes and LGV Méditerranée to the south and the LGV Interconnexion Est to the north. These connecting lines shortened journey times between Paris and the southeast of France (Marseille, Montpellier and Nice), Switzerland and Italy, as well as between the southeast and the north and west of France, the United Kingdom and Belgium. The LGV Rhône-Alpes, Sud-Est and Méditerranée, taken as a whole, were also nicknamed the ''City To Coast (C2C) Highway'' ("Ville à la Mer").

Route

The line crosses six departments, from north to south:
*Seine-et-Marne
*Yonne
* Côte-d'Or
* Saône-et-Loire
* Ain
*Rhône

The TGV system is compatible with the regular rail network, avoiding the need for new infrastructure construction to reach existing train stations in the dense urban areas of Paris and Lyon.

The distance from Paris ( Gare de Lyon) to Lyon ( Part-Dieu) is . The LGV route is long; by avoiding built-up areas between Paris and Lyon (particularly Dijon) this enables a route shorter than the regular line, which is long. There are no tunnels.

The line includes various connectors to the regular rail network:
*at Pasilly-Aisy towards Dijon, and further through the Jura Mountains to Vallorbe and Lausanne or Neuchâtel and Zurich
*at Mâcon-Pont-de-Veyle towards Bourg-en-Bresse and the Savoie department
*at Saint-Florentin
*at Le Creusot station
*at Mâcon-Loché station
These last three are used by service trains or in order to divert passenger trains if needed.

The line runs next to the A5 autoroute for and the N79 road for . For its full length, a -wide area has been reserved for a telecommunication artery.

Line specifics

The line has a surface area of in comparison Charles de Gaulle Airport occupies with an average width of . Platforms are wide, with a space between track centres of . The line was designed for a nominal speed of , with a minimum radius curve of although seven curves were made to a smaller radius, but no less than .

In total, the line comprises of track. This is formed by UIC 60 () rails placed in lengths, welded in place (with certain segmented sections). The concrete sleepers are formed of two blocks of concrete tied together by a metal strut. There are 1660 sleepers per kilometre.

Traction power is supplied by eight EDF substations at 25 kV AC, 50 Hz. The catenary is fed by an inverted phase "feeder" cable, which is equivalent to a 50 kV supply and reinforces the available power, enabling a singe trainset to draw up to 14 MW.

Signalling relies on high-frequency track circuits, signals being transmitted directly to the driver's console. There are lineside marker boards indicating the limits of each block section, but no signals as such.

The highest point on the line is above sea level, near the town of Liernais, north of Gare du Creusot. This is near the range dividing the Seine and Loire river valleys, and not far from the Rhône river valley.

Stations

The LGV Sud-Est serves the following stations:
*Le Creusot
* Mâcon-Loché
* Lyon Part-Dieu

Le-Creusot and Mâcon-Loché are basic stations situated away from built-up areas. They have four tracks, with the two central tracks being reserved for through trains, and the side tracks serving stopping trains on two side platforms.

Costs

From 1996, the track of the LGV Sud-Est was renewed at a cost of FRF 2 billion, or about €300 million.

History

* 10 July 1967: SNCF research launches project C 03 on high speed rail, titled "Rail Transport Possibilities through New Infrastructure"
* 26 March 1971: new line project approved by inter-ministerial committee
* 23 March 1976: declaration of public utility signed by Prime Minister Jacques Chirac
* 7 December 1976: works commence at Écuisses, Saône-et-Loire
* 14 June 1979: first rails laid near Montchanin, Saône-et-Loire
* 20 November 1980: track laying ends in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire
* 26 February 1981: trainset no. 16 (SNCF TGV Sud-Est) breaks the world record for rail speed at 380 km/h between Courcelles-Frémoy, Côte-d'Or and Dyé, Yonne in a gradually descending portion of the line
* 22 September 1981: inauguration of the first section ( Saint-Florentin to Montchanin) by the President of the Republic, François Mitterrand
* 27 September 1981: commercial service begins
* 25 September 1983: service begins on the northern section ( Combs-la-Ville to Saint-Florentin)
* 31 August 1992: derailment at 270 km/h of a TGV in Macon-Loché station; several passengers waiting on the platform are slightly injured by flying ballast
* 13 December 1992: service begins on northern section of LGV Rhône-Alpes ( Montanay to Saint-Quentin-Fallavier)
* 26 May 1994: service begins on LGV Interconnexion Est (connection with LGV Nord)
* March 1996: beginning of line renovation works (replacement of ballast and points, works designed to last until 2006)
* 2 June 1996: service begins at the junction with Villeneuve-Saint-Georges by the Coubert triangle

See also

* TGV

References

External links

High-speed rail lines site (in French)

{{High-speed railway lines

Sud-Est
Railway lines opened in 1981
Railway lines opened in 1983