the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur High Speed Line

Various railway improvements are being planned in response to the problems of accessibility and congestion that are affecting transport within the Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur region.

Public enquiry from February to July 2005

According to the Public Enquiry Commission, the many discussions and contributions arising from the public enquiry have resulted in the selection of three possible projects:

A High Speed Line to bring Nice as close as possible to Paris (the “Cote d’Azur High Speed Line”)
A High Speed Line to serve a string of coastal towns (the “Southern towns High Speed Line”),
A project to create fast regional connections supported by the existing network (the “Alternative solutions High Speed Line”).

Additional studies from 2006 to 2008

Réseau Ferré de France then conducted further studies, working alongside local players. The aim of these studies was to confirm the potential performance and the technical and financial viability of each of these options, using the Southern towns High Speed Line as a reference scenario.

Réseau Ferré de France’s decision following the additional studies

The Board of Directors at Réseau Ferré de France, Chaired by Hubert du Mesnil, met on Thursday 16 July 2009 and took the following decision as regards the Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur high speed line:
Following the decision taken on 29 June 2009 by the Minister of State, Mr Jean-Louis Borloo, and the Secretary of State, Ms Dominique Bussereau, to select the “Southern Towns” option as regards the PACA HSL, Réseau Ferré de France has decided to continue studies into this line in order to clarify the route of the corridor, to assess the technical and financial impact of the line, and to prepare for the enquiry prior to the Declaration of Public Utility.
This line will run between the cities of Aix-en-Provence/Marseille, Toulon, and Nice/Cote d’Azur, including the Mediterranean arc of Barcelona-Marseille-Genoa.
All of these actions will be carried out in consultation with, and with the agreement of, all partners involved. 
 

The project will satisfy various aims:

including the Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur region within the European high speed network,
placing Marseille and the Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur region at the heart of the Mediterranean arc (Barcelona-Marseille-Genoa), with better links to Italy and Spain and improved accessibility to the Var and the Côte d’Azur regions.
improving connections between the region’s major towns, Marseille, Toulon and Nice, including a reduction in the journey time between Marseille and Nice down to 1 hour (currently 2 hours 30 mins),
strengthening the regional express service (TER) around Marseille, Toulon and Nice, and therefore making it easier to travel within the region by offering better railway alternatives to the roads, which are becoming ever more congested.
 

Map of the study corridors for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur High Speed Line (PDF, 179 Kb)
 

The French State
The Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region
The Department of Bouches-du-Rhône
The Department of Var
The Department of Alpes-Maritimes
The Marseille Provence Metropole urban community,
The Mediterranean Toulon Provence city community
The Nice Côte d’Azur city community
The Pays d’Aix community
The Principality of Monaco
The European Union
The SNCF (French National Railways)
Réseau Ferré de France
 

The public enquiry took place from February to July 2005.
The additional studies, started in 2006, were completed by the summer of 2008.
On 29 June 2009, the “Southern Towns” option was selected from the three proposed projects.
Studies prior to the Public Utility Enquiry will take place between 2010 and 2014.

Due to open by the end of 2023.