Website for the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line
The Rhin-Rhône line will be an essential link in the railway network between the north and south of Europe. Made of three complementary branches, the project will start with the Eastern branch running between Dijon and Mulhouse, the first province-to-province High Speed Line project in France.
the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line
Background
Regional railway connections along the Rhin-Rhône branch often involve long journey times.
In addition, there are no direct high speed links at all between the regions of Alsace, Franche-Comté and Bourgogne and the regions of Rhône-Alps, Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrenees.
Finally, the routing of freight trains along the existing railway tracks within this corridor is nearing saturation point.
The Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line, in addition to its European dimension, will bring improvements to:
The East-West branch: between Ile-de-France, Bourgogne, France-Comté, the south of Alsace and Switzerland,
The North-South branch: Alsace, Bourgogne, Franche-Comté, Languedoc-Roussillon, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrenees, Provence-Alps-Côte d’Azur, Rhône-Alps…
In total:
12 of the 21 mainland French regions will benefit from the project,
At European level, the plans will in particular affect Germany, Switzerland (German- and French- speaking areas), Great Britain, Belgium and the Mediterranean arch.
Project aims
The main aims of the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line are to:
Create an effective link in the European and French high speed networks,
Allow the routing of European and French freight traffic,
Increase numbers of services to the areas concerned.
The route
Eastern branch :
190km of new track (140km in works for the first phase), from Dijon to Mulhouse.
Map of the Eastern branch of the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line (PDF, 312 kb)
Western branch:
From Dijon to the Paris-Lyon high speed line.
Map of the Western branch of the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line (PDF, 192 kb)
Southern branch:
Intersection with 2 other branches towards Lyon.
Map of the Southern branch of the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line (PDF, 360 kb)
Map of the Rhin-Rhône High Speed Line (PDF, 460 kb)
Funding
The cost of the work on the Eastern line is estimated at €2,312 billion.
Partners
The Eastern branch project is supported by 20 joint funders, in addition to Réseau Ferré de France: the European Union, Switzerland, the French government and the regional authorities of the areas through which the line will pass.
Timescale
Eastern branch:
July 2006: Work started
End of 2011: Planned opening.
Key figures for the Eastern Branch
6,000 jobs created
2 new stations
13 viaducts
160 bridges
15 years of studies and public inquiries to prepare the project
1 hour 30 minutes: Journey time saved between Dijon and Strasbourg
1 hour 20 minutes: Journey time saved between Mulhouse and Lyon
320 km/h: Maximum train speed
6,000 jobs created
2 new stations
13 viaducts
160 bridges
15 years of studies and public inquiries to prepare the project
1 hour 30 minutes: Journey time saved between Dijon and Strasbourg
1 hour 20 minutes: Journey time saved between Mulhouse and Lyon
320 km/h: Maximum train speed
- The Rhin-Rhône HSL: a new line in the heart of Europe (PDF - 674.4 kb)
