the Brittany - Pays de la Loire High Speed Line

The Brittany - Pays de la Loire LGV project, an extension of the Paris – Connerré LGV (to the east of Le Mans), plans to build 182 km of new line, plus 32 km of connections to the existing network (Connerré, Sablé-sur-Sarthe; La Milesse, Laval-Est, Laval-Ouest and Rennes). The Brittany - Pays de la Loire LGV is scheduled to carry a mixture of passengers and freight on the section to the north of Le Mans and will not include a new station.

 

A major railway project for western France

The Brittany - Pays de la Loire LGV project forms part of the extension of the Atlantique Paris - Le Mans LGV, which was opened in 1989.

Its aim is to significantly improve services in Brittany and Pays de la Loire, and to enhance their accessibility. The expected time saving is 37 minutes between Paris and Rennes (with journey times taking around 1 hr 30) and beyond, to Saint-Malo and the whole of western Brittany. As such, it will eventually help to reduce Paris-Brest and Paris-Quimper journey times to 3 hours.

In Pays de la Loire, the expected time saving is 22 minutes for Laval and 8 minutes for Angers, Nantes and areas beyond.

The impact of the new line is also positive on internal services within these areas, as the high-speed line will free up capacities on existing standard lines for regional express trains and freight.

This project forms part of a sustainable development rationale. It is included in the priority programme to create 2,000 km of new high-speed railway lines, as defined by the Environment Round Table Act of 3 August 2009.

An expansion of the national and European railway network

Having been issued a certificate of public usefulness on 26 October 2007, the Brittany - Pays de la Loire LGV is one of the railway projects included in:
The Interministerial Town and Country Planning Committee meeting of 18 December 2003
The European High-Speed Transport Network dated December 2004
The Economic Recovery Plan established by the Interministerial Town and Country Planning Committee meeting of 2 February 2009
The Environment Round Table Act of 3 August 2009

 

Map of the Brittany-Pays de la Loire LGV (PDF, 3.6 Mb)
 

The choice of a Public-Private Partnership

The declaration of intent of 29 July 2008, signed by the government, RFF and the regions of Brittany and Pays de la Loire, established the choice of a public-private partnership contract for the construction of the new line and outlined the breakdown of financing between the government, the territorial collectivities concerned and RFF.
With strong growth predicted for the national railway network, the use of a public-private partnership constitutes a new form of public procurement in rail transport.

The framework financing agreement of 29 July 2009 clarified these financial arrangements and enabled RFF to send the request for quotations to the three candidates chosen to submit a tender. The initial tenders were submitted at the end of 2009, allowing the analysis and negotiation phases to begin prior to the submission of the final tenders in October 2010.

Following an analysis of the tenders and an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors on January 18, Réseau Ferré de France chose Eiffage as the anticipated assignee.

The procedure is ongoing and the aim is to sign a partnership contract during the first half of 2011, following an approval by decree from the Council of State.

 

While waiting for the partnership contract holder to be chosen, RFF is continuing with preparatory phases on the ground, including:

Additional technical and environmental studies. The scope of the technical studies includes connections with existing lines, constructed under a project ownership arrangement mandated by the SNCF.
The preventive archaeology campaign began in the autumn of 2009. An initial diagnostics phase carried out by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) concerns a section stretching over 214 km.
The real estate acquisition mechanism put in place in 2005 by agreement between the government, the regions of Brittany and Pays de la Loire, the departments of Ille-et-Vilaine, Mayenne and Sarthe, and RFF. The results achieved from amicable settlements are very significant: at the end of 2010, more than 3,000 ha had been reserved, 90% of residences had been acquired and 75% of farming operations earmarked for restructuring had been included in compensation agreements. Land use planning is being carried out in tandem with the construction of the high-speed railway line along virtually the entire route.
The preparation of network deviations (GRTGaz, France Télécom, RTE, etc.).
 

After the public-private partnership contract is signed, RFF will assign project ownership for the new line to the contract holder, at which point it will be responsible for completion of the project, then the maintenance and renewal of the line over the contract’s duration (25 years).

In line with the partnership contract, the holder will take over operational coordination duties previously carried out by RFF.

It will:
Finalise the technical project and accompanying measures
Complete additional procedures to be carried out following detailed studies: the Water Act, protected species, land plot surveys, remaining real estate acquisitions, etc.
RFF will continue to act as project owner for:
Connections to the existing national railway network (junctions with standard lines)
Centralised management systems governing operation and electric power (Remote Command Post, Central Sub-Station, etc.).
 

The partnership project constitutes the legal framework that the private partner must abide by. It is based on the certificate of public usefulness (decree of 26 October 2007) and the dossier of government commitments (January 2009). This dossier presents the commitments of the government and the project owner regarding the environment and integration into the areas traversed, at the time a certificate of public usefulness is issued. It includes the terms of the general provisions related to the various environmental topics and localised commitments in the three departments concerned. These measures will be implemented by the project owner of the infrastructure.
RFF will ensure that all of the commitments made are met by introducing a control mechanism.

The project’s public partners will be brought together as part of a steering committee.
In keeping with the conclusions and the verdict of the enquiry committee (16 November 2006), as well as the standard rules for major infrastructure projects, three departmental monitoring committees have been established in Ille-et-Vilaine, Mayenne and Sarthe. Reporting to departmental prefects, these committees contain representatives of the administrations concerned, MPs, socioeconomic stakeholders, and environmental protection and local resident associations.