the Poitiers-Limoges High Speed Line

The HSL is a real source of development for the area, which covers Limousin, Poitou-Charentes and the neighbouring departments.

It consists of :
The Paris – Orléans – Limoges – Toulouse line and the regional railway network,
The future South Europe Atlantic High Speed Line and the future high speed Atlantic coast network which is soon to connect Rennes, Bordeaux and Toulouse with other national and European city centres already served by high speed trains.

 

The aims of the Poitiers-Limoges HSL are to:

Encourage greater access from the Limousin region, as well as from departments such as the Dordogne, Cantal, Lot and Aveyron, to Ile-de-France and to other national and European city centres already served by high speed trains,
Form part of the plans to open up Limousin towards the Atlantic coast,
Provide stronger connections between the two regional capitals of Poitiers and Limoges,
Place Limoges within 2 hours of Paris by connecting to the South Europe Atlantic High Speed Line,
Cut the journey time from Brive-la-Gaillarde to Paris to 3 hours,
Connect Poitiers and Limoges in less than 45 minutes.

Study area (10 km wide strip) inside which the HSL will be studied.
 

There is a route option (a 10 km wide strip), within which the possibilities of the High Speed Line will be studied.
Map of the route option for the Poitiers-Limoges High Speed Line (PDF, 210Kb)


The total cost of the project is estimated at €1.3 billion, using figures from 2005.
 

To date, the funding method has not been determined. The studies shall be funded by the State (1/3), the regional authorities (1/3) and by the Réseau Ferré de France (1/3).
 

The studies are expected to result in a public usefulness enquiry, scheduled for 2012. The aim is to commercially launch the high-speed railway line at the same time as or very close to the launch of the South Europe Atlantic High Speed Line.