France - Older General Information

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Revision as of 08:26, 28 March 2017 by Richard Maund (talk | contribs) (→‎Line closures: CFT de la Mure added)
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Introduction

This document acts as an archive for Recent and Future Changes prior to 2012.

Line closures

Services which have been withdrawn permanently

  • Sarreguemines - Bitche (December 2011: "suspended" but finance for remedial engineering work was later refused by the government so passenger service is effectively definitively withdrawn)
  • Avallon - Autun (December 2011)
  • the north-western arc of the Paris Grande Ceinture used by short-lived through TGV services between Normandy and eastern France (December 2010, although part will be followed - on dedicated trackbed - by Tram 11 Express tram-train from 2017)
  • Saincaize west curve (Raccordement de Saincaize)(December 2009)
  • Valençay - Luçay-le-Mâle (October 2009)
  • the northern section of the Paris Grande Ceinture used as a through link by 'classic' (Flandres-Riviera) trains between the Nord and PLM main lines (June 2009)
  • Montluçon - Eygurande-Merlines (March 2008)
  • Volvic - Lapeyrouse (December 2007)

In the "tourist/heritage" sector:

  • Train Touristique d'Ardèche Méridionale (Saint-Jean-le-Centenier - Voguë; 14 km) closed after the 2011 season, because of track renewal costs (part has since become a vélo-rail route)
  • Train Touristique de la Mine (Petite-Rosselle - Freyming-Merlebach) seems to have closed after the 2010 season

Services which have been "suspended" but with no sign of reopening

In the "tourist/heritage" sector:

  • CF Touristique de la Mure (St.Georges de Commiers - La Mure; 33 km) closed by a major rock fall after the 2010 season. There remains a local aspiration to reopen at least part of the line.

Line openings

  • The Ligne du Haut-Bugey (Bourg-en-Bresse - La Cluse - Bellegarde) was modernised, electrified and reopened (along with the branch to Oyonnax) from December 2010, offering a shorter, slightly faster route to Genève for TGV’s from Paris; however, the overall alignment remains largely unchanged - it is not a "green field" LGV.
  • A light rail system is being developed in Mulhouse; the first phase, which included conversion of the Kruth branch and its linking to the town tramway system, commenced operation in December 2010.
  • The opening of the first phase of the LGV Est on 10 June 2007 represented a further phase of the extension of the LGV network.
  • An east - west curve avoiding St.Germain-des-Fossés opened in December 2006.