On 29 June, three years after work started, the Rhine-Rhône HSL entered a new phase with the laying of the first welded long rails, which are synonymous with high speed trains. With the civil engineering work completed, the major railway phase can now begin.

Marc Svetchine, Director of Réseau Ferré de France for Bourgogne Franche-Comté was delighted at the news. “The first three years have been dominated by the civil engineering side - we have moved millions of cubic metres of earthworks, built 160 bridges, 13 viaducts and a tunnel. Today, we move forward into the railway stage of the project, with the laying of the first rails.” The track will be laid at a rate of one kilometre a day, and the work is set to take 18 months in total. Eighteen months to lay the track, but also to provide the power supply, install signalling, build the control and command facilities, provide telecommunications support, and conduct speed tests. The full array of work needed for a major high speed line!

The benefits of high speed

The high speed line will replace a very windy route that ran the length of the Doubs valley with trains travelling at 100 km/h. “Covering just short of 150 km this is a relatively short line, but will represent huge time savings for travellers”, confirmed Mr Svetchine. “We will save on both journey time and distance, since the trains will be travelling at 320 km/h over a shorter route. To give an example, the fastest train between Strasbourg and Lyon currently makes the journey in 4 hours 45 minutes. In just 3 years’ time, it will take only 3 hours 15 minutes. We will gain 1 hour 30 minutes with only 140 km of new track”.

A local European project

One of the notable features of the Rhine-Rhone HSL is that it is the first high speed link not to pass through Paris. However, it is much more than just a national project, since it will be part of a European network that will connect France to the economic and demographic areas of the Rhine basin and Benelux. In addition, the route will facilitate connections with the economic and urban centres along the Mediterranean and the Latin Arc. A truly European HSL, of a sort!

Website for the Rhine-Rhône HSL

*Eastern branch