Plans for TGV line from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand

Railway Gazette: Paris to Clermont-Ferrand high speed line plans outlined
European Tribune - A second TGV line to Lyon - DoDo

French RR infrastructure company RFF has released plans for its LGV POCL, a high-speed line for connecting Paris, Orléans, Clermont-Ferrand, and Lyon. RFF currently proposes four options: a west one, a southwest one, a central one, and an eastern one. The first two pass through Orléans, while the second to pass a little to the east. Trains to Clermont-Ferrand will depart from this line between Nevers and Vichy and use the existing line.

It's not expected to be built until after 2025, however.

DoDo has a nice map showing progress in building high-speed lines in France, with the exception of long-term-planned lines like this one. I had to use an image editor to make them more visible.

Existing:

• Paris - Lille - Calais (Chunnel), Brussels
• Paris - Baudrecourt (Strasbourg)
• Paris - Lyon - Nîmes, Marseille
• Paris - Tours, LeMans

Under construction, in contracting:

• Baudrecourt - Strasbourg (U.C., 2016)
• Dijon - Mulhouse (U.C., Dec 11, 2011)
• Nîmes - Montpellier (contracting, 2016?)
• Tours - Bordeaux (contract signed, 2017-19?)
• Le Mans - Rennes (contract signed, 2016?)

In planning:

• Paris - Rouen - Le Havre
• Montbard (P-L line) - Dijon - Lyon - Chambéry, Grenoble
• Marseille - Nice
• Montpellier - Perpignan (France-Spain tunnel)
• Bordeaux - Toulouse, Dax
• Poitiers - Limoges

Long-term, like this proposed line:

• Le Havre - Caen - Cherbourg
• Paris - Amiens - Calais
• Strasbourg - Mulhouse
• Paris - Orléans - Clermont-Ferrand - Lyon, Valence (this line)
• Toulose - Perpignan
• Dax - Pau, Hendaye
• Angoulême - Limoges - Clermont-Ferrand
• Tours - POCL line
• Caen, Cherbourg - Rennes - Nantes - Poitiers

The reason for no proposed Clermont-Ferrand - Toulouse line is, I think that the Massif Central, a mountainous area, is in between.

I wonder if they'll ever build a high speed line between Lyon and Milan. I took the TGV from Paris to Milan a couple of years ago, and the Lyon - Milan portion was SLOW!

Matt Johnson wrote:I wonder if they'll ever build a high speed line between Lyon and Milan. I took the TGV from Paris to Milan a couple of years ago, and the Lyon - Milan portion was SLOW!

It's faster to go via Switzerland. See the map here.
http://www.seat61.com/Italy.htm

There are already plans in the works for that: Lyon Turin Ferroviaire

It will involve the Mont d'Ambin base tunnel between France and Italy, which will be about as long as the Gotthard Base Tunnel. It will run between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France and Susa in Italy.

Construction is supposed to start in 2013 and it may start service in 2023.

The existing route also has a tunnel, the Fréjus or Mt. Cenis rail tunnel, about 14 km long. It is between Modane, FR and Bardonecchia, IT.

I found a map of this proposed route at Carte liaison Lyon-Turin ("Lyon-Turin link map"), at Présentation du projet Lyon-Turin - Ministère du Développement durable. It shows the Italian end emerging at Bussoleno, a little downhill from Susa, and some tunnels between the French end and Chambéry, a little east of Lyon.

Railway Gazette: Tours – Bordeaux concession signed

FF President Hubert du Mesnil and Chief Executive of Vinci Constructions Xavier Huillard signed the PPP concession for construction and operation of LGV Sud-Europe Atlantique on June 16. The ceremony in Paris followed confirmation of the terms by the RFF board on June 9 and approval by the Prime Minister on behalf of the government.

Under the 50-year concession, the line will be built and managed by the Vinci-led LISEA consortium. ...

The 302 km high speed line linking Tours, Poitiers and Bordeaux is expected to reduce Paris – Bordeaux journey times to just 2 h 5 min.

Construction will start in the first quarter of 2012, and it should take 6 years.