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The Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line is an international
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...
line between
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
in
Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...
, France and
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...
, Spain. The line consists of a railway, of which are in France and are in Spain. The line is sometimes referenced as an extension of the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line. The Perpignan–Barcelona line is a part of the Mediterranean Corridor. During the mid 1990s, both France and Spain resolved to build a high speed crossing of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
mountains that separate the two countries; such a line was forecast to secure a 30 per cent share of the land transport market, and be of particular importance to freight movements. On 17 February 2004, a concession was awarded to the TP Ferro consortium, which included the companies Eiffage (France) and ACS / Dragados (Spain), under which the consortium constructed the line at an estimated cost of around €1.1 billion, and was to operate it for 50 years. The most significant civil engineering work on the line was the Perthus Tunnel under the Perthus Pass; the line crosses the French–Spanish border within this tunnel. The line uses
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
track and
25 kV AC railway electrification Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...
at 50 Hz, consistent with the French LGV and Spanish
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
high-speed rail networks. The line was delivered on 17 February 2009, three months after its connection to the French railway network. However, the first train connection did not take place until 19 December 2010 due to delays in the delivery of the Figueres station. The first service to Barcelona was conducted on 9 January 2013 after the completion of the Figueres-Barcelona line. During 2014, the concessionaire's financial situation deteriorated. The collected tolls were insufficient to repay its creditors the sum of €500 million; a
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
order for TP Ferro was issued two years later. The line is now operated by France and Spain via the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif.


History


Background

Between the nations of France and Spain lies a natural barrier in the form of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
mountain range, a geographic feature has been a historic challenge to cross-border traffic. By the 1990s, increasing cross-border activity was being constrained by congestion on the existing road and air links. Furthermore, officials recognised that the existing conventional cross-border line, which involved a
break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and railroad car, rolling stock g ...
, was far slower than new infrastructure would have been. Railway planners proposed two different cross-border high speed rail lines traversing the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
; the Figueras-Perpignan route towards the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
being one while the other, between Dax and Vitoria, was closer to the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
. During 1992, the governments of France and Spain began to discuss options for improving cross-border connectivity via the creation of a new international railway between the two countries to accommodate high volume of traffic that had been projected. On 10 October 1995, both governments signed the Madrid agreement, formally declaring their intention to build a double tracked
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
high speed line through the Pyrenees between Perpignan (France) and Figueras (Spain). During the following year, the scheme became one of 20 priority projects highlighted under the wider Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme. Prior to the project's launch, extensive surveying efforts were conducted to support the line's future construction. While the forecasted passenger figures on their own did not justify construction of the line, the need for effective freight movements via a modern fast line was apparent; while annual freight traffic between Spain and the rest of Europe had reached 144 million tonnes by 1998, rail freight across all of the four conventional lines then available comprised just three per cent of that total. It was anticipated that the rail link would promptly achieve a 30 per cent share of the land transport market across the Pyrenees; traffic in the first year of operations alone was expected to be around 3.5 million passengers and 4.2 million tonnes of freight.


Selection and construction

During 2002, following a competitive bidding process, it was announced that the Euroferro consortium, comprising
Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the ...
and Dragados, had been selected as the preferred bidder to construct the line. However, negotiations between the consortium and the two national governments ultimately broke down and the whole process was annulled in 2003. Furthermore,
legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the part ...
had been threatened by one of the unsuccessful bidders against both governments and the consortium over alleged discrepancies in the bidding process. Shortly thereafter, the tendering process was relaunched with a tighter specification and a less flexible contract model along with additional stipulations pertaining to both negotiation and strict deadlines. While the second tender was more coldly received by the industry, attracting only three consortia, the negotiation process was relatively fast. On 17 February 2004, a contract for the construction of the line was awarded to the TP Ferro consortium, a joint venture of Eiffage (France) and Dragados (Spain). The group constructed the line for an estimated cost of approximately €1.1 billion, and was to operate it for 53 years. It received a public
subsidy A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acc ...
of €540 million, split between the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, France and Spain. The European Union also provided 25 percent of the cost of the original construction works. From the onset, the construction timeline was particularly stringent, although considerable planning had been completed beforehand; this hastiness was politically driven, partially due to the either nation being obligated to pay an
indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...
to the concessionaire for failures that resulted in the project overrunning its established opening date. At the height of construction activity, in excess of 1,500 workers are employed in the project; work was performed in shifts across all hours of the day. The financing arrangements were particularly complex, incorporating a
public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sectors, private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Revie ...
(PPP), the involvement of 18
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
s, and a €540 million
subsidy A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acc ...
; however, there were no minimum usage or similar such guarantees imposed on either
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
and
Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
or the two governments. The most challenging single piece of civil engineering in the line's construction of the project was the twin bore Perthus Tunnel, which had a length of under the Perthus Pass. Various other bridges, tunnels, and miscellaneous civil engineering works were also required, however their cost was dwarfed by that of the tunnel ($375 million) by a considerable margin. On 19 July 2005, construction of the tunnel was officially launched at a ceremony attended by both French and Spanish dignitaries. Much of the excavation was performed by a pair of
tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
s (TBMs).


Testing and opening

During November 2008, test running commenced; the international section was officially opened on 17 February 2009. However, the running of services were delayed until December 2010 because the station at Figueres was not finished. Services in the section started on 19 December 2010 with a TGV service from Paris via Perpignan to Figueres–Vilafant and regular freight traffic started on 21 December 2010. Eventually the international section was officially inaugurated on 27 January 2011. However, the delay in the opening of the natural extension of the line between Figueres and Barcelona led to lower traffic than expected and therefore to lower revenues for the concessionaire, which was generated via a toll system. During early 2014, the concessionaire experienced a catastrophic financial situation as the collected tolls were insufficient to repay the €500 million which had been borrowed from various banks. In July 2015, the company announced that it was
insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet in ...
; on 15 September 2016, the court of Girona ordered the
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
of TP Ferro. As a consequence, France and Spain, through the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif, took over operations of the line, as well as the debt. This takeover took place on 21 December 2016, by the joint subsidiary "Línia Figueres-Perpinyà" (or "Línea Figueras Perpignan S.A."), created on 21 October 2016.


Line

The track on the new line is
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
using
25 kV AC railway electrification Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...
at 50 Hz, consistent with the French LGV and Spanish
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
high-speed rail networks. The line is used by both passenger and freight trains, the maximum grade being limited to 12 ‰. The design speed is . The line's design was heavily shaped by its need to accommodate freight trains; this can be seen in its use of gentler gradients than those typically found on the average LGV line. This line was the first rail connection between Spain and the rest of Europe constructed without a break-of-gauge and the first international connection to the standard-gauge Spanish AVE network. Traditional Spanish rail lines are
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
based on the Spanish vara , so rail connections between France and Spain have traditionally involved a
break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally canno ...
, implying that passengers and cargo must either change trains, or the trains must pass through gauge-changing installations at the border. Another same-gauge connection to France is planned near the Atlantic coast in the Basque country, and a third link via
Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...
crossing the central Pyrenees mountains through a tunnel is under study. France has left-hand traffic for trains and Spain right-hand one, so a flyover was built around north of the border ().


Perpignan - Figueres line

The line from Perpignan to Figueres is a mixed-traffic high-speed railway (that is allowing passenger trains and freight trains) of , including on the French side and on the Spanish side, with UIC standard gauge. The design speed (or maximum nominal speed) of this line is but the maximal commercial speed is currently . The railway crosses the FrenchSpanish border via the Perthus Tunnel, an tunnel bored under the Perthus Pass. This line constitutes line no. 837 000 of the French national rail network, under the name "Ligne de Perpignan à Figueras (LGV)", although it is not legally part of it.


Figueres - Barcelona line

This line is part of the Spanish "Madrid-Barcelona-French Border" line."Madrid - Barcelona - French border line. Barcelona - Figueres section"
on the ADIF website.
It is also a mixed-traffic high-speed railway, with an operating speed of up to . The Spanish Barcelona–Figueres section was originally planned to open in 2009, however, delays were encountered during the building of a 4-kilometre tunnel in
Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...
, the first phase of which was finished in September 2010, as well as controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona. The section was eventually completed in January 2013 at a cost of €3.7 billion and the entire line officially opened on 8 January 2013. This connected for the first time the Spanish
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
high-speed network with the French TGV high-speed network.


Services

A TGV service from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
via
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
started on 19 December 2010 to a temporary station at Figueres and a connecting service on the classic line on to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...
and
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. The total journey time from Paris to Barcelona has been reduced by 1h 15m to 7h 25m (current Paris-Barcelona travel time by train is 6h 41m). Of that, 5h 30m was spent on the Paris to Figueres segment. Initially there was a service of two Paris-Figueres TGVs per day, which connected with two
Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...
Alvia trains a day between Barcelona and Figueres via the conventional broad gauge line and a temporary double gauge track. From January 2013 there was a service of nine Renfe
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
trains a day between Figueres and Barcelona with eight services continuing on to Madrid. Renfe started a standard-gauge freight service on 21 December 2010. As of January 2011 four freight trains a week run over the line from Barcelona, with journey times reduced by 6 hours: one train each way to Lyon, and one each way to Milan. On 28 November 2013, Renfe and
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...
announced the opening of direct long-distance services from 15 December 2013, with daily SNCF TGV Euroduplex trains between Paris – Barcelona, and AVE Renfe 100 series trains for the routes
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
– Barcelona,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
– Barcelona,
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
– Madrid, based on a commercial agreement between the two companies in a cooperation called Elipsos. However, since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in 2019, only the trains linking Barcelona with Paris and Barcelona with Lyon were running with one daily train in each direction. In February 2022 SNCF announced the break up of the company Elipsos and since then the French operator relaunched its high-speed service between Paris and Barcelona on its own under the
TGV inOui TGV inOui is the brand name of premium TGV train services operated by SNCF since 27 May 2017 on certain high speed rail services. SNCF is in the process of replacing 'classic' TGV services with the premium inOui and low-cost Ouigo brands in p ...
brand with the timetable change in December 2022. This Barcelona-Paris remained for a while the only high-speed service in operation between the two countries, until Renfe introduced its own new services on the routes Barcelona-Lyon from 13 July 2023 and Madrid-Marseille from 28 July 2023. there are eight trains a day running from Madrid, connecting at Figueres Vilafant with two TGV services to Paris. Since December 2013, the journey time for the TGV Paris–Barcelona service has been 6 hours 25 minutes.


Expansion


Operating

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...
is expected to take less than four hours using the standard line in France between Perpignan and
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
. A new company jointly owned by RENFE and SNCF is to be formed to run services between Paris and Madrid. Ten new trains are to be purchased at a cost of €300 million. Tendering for the Nîmes–Montpellier bypass route started in May 2010. This is the first stage in the link between the Spanish high-speed network and LGV Méditerranée and the line will carry a mix of freight and high-speed trains. A 25-year
Public–Private Partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sectors, private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Revie ...
agreement was signed in June 2012, construction works completed in December 2017 and the first passenger services to
Montpellier Sud de France station Montpellier Sud de France station (French language, French: ''Gare de Montpellier Sud de France'') is a railway station on the outskirts of Montpellier, France which offers TGV services. Montpellier Sud de France was built for and opened in 201 ...
commenced on 7 July 2018.


Future

Work on the LGV Montpellier–Perpignan is expected to start in 2029 beginning with the Montpellier-Béziers section. Public consultation took place in beginning 2015 and the preliminary high-speed route and station locations were approved by the French transport ministry in February 2016. Initial construction plans for the Montpellier-Béziers section forecast the construction to last 10 years plus another 10 years for the Béziers-Perpignan section. Financing for the project was agreed in January 2022 while a special purpose body to oversee delivery, financing and project management was formed in March 2022. The Montpellier-Béziers section is now expected to be operational by 2034 with the Béziers - Perpignan section to follow construction by end 2039 and be completed by 2044. For the second section a new public consultation is expected to begin in the fall of 2025. The total cost of the project is 6 billion euros.


See also

*
High-speed rail in Spain High-speed railways in Spain have been in operation since 1992 when the first line was opened connecting the cities of Madrid, Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba and Seville. Unlike the rest of the Iberian gauge, Iberian broad gauge network, the Spani ...
* TGV *
AVE is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
- Spanish high-speed train service


References


External links


LGV Map on Google Maps

A photo of the end of the line

Perpignan–Barcelona in 50 mins

Entry on Ferrocarriles wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:LGV Perpignan-Figueres High-speed railway lines in Spain Perpignan-Figueres Perpignan International railway lines France–Spain border crossings Railway lines opened in 2010 Rail infrastructure in Catalonia Transport in Occitania (administrative region) 2010 establishments in France 2010 establishments in Spain