Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line
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25 kV 50 Hz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Signalling | ERTMS level 2, ASFA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line is an international high-speed rail line between Perpignan in Roussillon, France and Barcelona, Spain. The line consists of a 175.5-kilometre (109.1 mi) railway, of which 24.6 km (15.3 mi) are in France and 150.8 km (93.7 mi) are in Spain. The line is sometimes referenced as an extension of the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line. The Perpignan–Barcelona line is a part of the Mediterranean Corridor.[3][4]
During the mid 1990s, both France and Spain resolved to build a high speed crossing of the
The line was delivered on 17 February 2009, three months after its connection to the French railway network. However, the first train connection did not take place until 19 December 2010 due to delays in the delivery of the Figueres station. The first service to Barcelona was conducted on 9 January 2013 after the completion of the Figueres-Barcelona line.[6] During 2014, the concessionaire's financial situation deteriorated the collected tolls being insufficient to repay its creditors the sum of €500 million; a liquidation order for TP Ferro was issued two years later. The line in now operated by France and Spain via the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif.
History
Background
Between the nations of France and Spain lies a natural barrier in the form of the Pyrenees mountain range, a geographic feature has been a historic challenge to cross-border traffic.[7] By the 1990s, increasing cross-border activity was being constrained by congestion on the existing road and air links.[8] Furthermore, officials recognised that the existing conventional cross-border line, which involved a break of gauge, was far slower than new infrastructure would have been. Railway planners proposed two different cross-border high speed rail lines traversing the Pyrenees; the Figueras-Perpignan route towards the Mediterranean being one while the other, between Dax and Vitoria, was closer to the Atlantic.[9] During 1992, the governments of France and Spain began to discuss options for improving cross-border connectivity via the creation of a new international railway between the two countries to accommodate high volume of traffic that had been projected.[7]
On 10 October 1995, both governments signed the Madrid agreement, formally declaring their intention to build a double tracked
While the forecasted passenger figures on their own did not justify construction of the line, the need for effective freight movements via a modern fast line was apparent; while annual freight traffic between Spain and the rest of Europe had reached 144 million tonnes by 1998, rail freight across all of the four conventional lines then available comprised just three per cent of that total.[8] It was anticipated that the rail link would promptly achieve a 30 per cent share of the land transport market across the Pyrenees; traffic in the first year of operations alone was expected to be around 3.5 million passengers and 4.2 million tonnes of freight.[8]
Selection and construction
During 2002, following a competitive
On 17 February 2004, a contract for the construction of the line was awarded to the TP Ferro consortium, a joint venture of
From the onset, the construction timeline was particularly stringent, although considerable planning had been completed beforehand; this hastiness was politically driven, partially due to the either nation being obligated to pay an
The most challenging single piece of civil engineering in the line's construction of the project was the twin bore Perthus Tunnel, which had a length of 8.3 kilometres (5.2 mi) under the Perthus Pass.[13] Various other bridges, tunnels, and miscellaneous civil engineering works were also required, however their cost was dwarfed by that of the tunnel ($375 million) by a considerable margin.[14] On 19 July 2005, construction of the tunnel was officially launched at a ceremony attended by both French and Spanish dignitaries. Much of the excavation was performed by a pair of tunnel boring machines (TBMs).[14][15]
Testing and opening
During November 2008, test running commenced; the international section was officially opened on 17 February 2009. However, the running of services were delayed until December 2010 because the station at Figueres was not finished.[16][17][18] Services in the section started on 19 December 2010 with a TGV service from Paris via Perpignan to Figueres–Vilafant and regular freight traffic started on 21 December 2010. Eventually the 44.5-kilometre (27.7 mi) international section was officially inaugurated on 27 January 2011.[19]
However, the delay in the opening of the natural extension of the line between Figueres and Barcelona led to lower traffic than expected and therefore to lower revenues for the concessionaire, which was generated via a
Line
The track on the new line is
This line was the first rail connection between Spain and the rest of Europe constructed without a break-of-gauge
France has left-hand traffic for trains and Spain right-hand one, so a flyover was built around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the border (42°33′33″N 2°51′04″E / 42.55929°N 2.85120°E).[24]
Perpignan - Figueres line
The line from Perpignan to Figueres is a mixed-traffic high-speed railway (that is allowing passenger trains and freight trains) of 44.4 km (27.6 mi), including 24.6 km (15.3 mi) on the French side and 19.8 km (12.3 mi) on the Spanish side, with UIC standard gauge. The design speed (or maximum nominal speed) of this line is 350 km/h (220 mph)[25] but the maximal commercial speed is currently 300 km/h (190 mph).[1] The railway crosses the French–Spanish border via the Perthus Tunnel, an 8.3 km (5.2 mi) tunnel bored under the Perthus Pass.[26]
This line constitutes line no. 837 000 of the French national rail network, under the name “Ligne de Perpignan à Figueras (LGV)”, although it is not legally part of it.
Figueres - Barcelona line
This 131 km (81.4 mi) line is part of the Spanish "Madrid-Barcelona-French Border" line.[27][28] It is also a mixed-traffic high-speed railway, with an operating speed of up to 290 km/h (180 mph).[2]
The Spanish 131-kilometre (81.4 mi) Barcelona–Figueres section was originally planned to open in 2009, however, delays were encountered during the building of a 4-kilometre tunnel in Girona, the first phase of which was finished in September 2010,[29] as well as controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona.[30] The section was eventually completed in January 2013 at a cost of €3.7 billion and the entire line officially opened on 8 January 2013.[31][32][33] This connected for the first time the Spanish AVE high-speed network with the French TGV high-speed network.[34]
Services
A
Renfe started a standard-gauge freight service on 21 December 2010.[39] As of January 2011 four freight trains a week run over the line from Barcelona, with journey times reduced by 6 hours: one train each way to Lyon, and one each way to Milan.[39]
On 28 November 2013, Renfe and SNCF announced the opening of direct long-distance services from 15 December 2013, with daily SNCF TGV Euroduplex trains between Paris – Barcelona, and AVE Renfe 100 series trains for the routes Toulouse – Barcelona, Lyon – Barcelona, Marseille – Madrid, based on a commercial agreement between the two companies in a cooperation called Elipsos.[40][41] However, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, only the trains linking Barcelona with Paris and Barcelona with Lyon were running with one daily train in each direction. In February 2022 SNCF announced the break up of the company Elipsos and since then the French operator relaunched its high-speed service between Paris and Barcelona on its own under the TGV inOui brand with the timetable change in December 2022. This Barcelona-Paris remained for a while the only high-speed service in operation between the two countries, until Renfe introduced its own new services on the routes Barcelona-Lyon from 13 July 2023 and Madrid-Marseille from 28 July 2023.[42][43]
As of January 2013[update] there are eight trains a day running from Madrid, connecting at Figueres Vilafant with two TGV services to Paris.[44] Since December 2013, the journey time for the TGV Paris–Barcelona service has been 6 hours 25 minutes.[45]
Expansion
Operating
Lyon to Barcelona is expected to take less than four hours[46][needs update] using the standard line[clarification needed] in France between Perpignan and Nîmes. A new company jointly owned by RENFE and SNCF is to be formed to run services between Paris and Madrid. Ten new trains are to be purchased at a cost of €300 million.[47]
Tendering for the
Future
Work on the 150 kilometres (93 mi) LGV Montpellier–Perpignan is not expected to start before 2020, following public consultation beginning 2015.[52] However, the preliminary high-speed route and station locations were approved by the French transport ministry in February 2016.[53] Construction for the Montpellier-Béziers section is forecast to last 10 years, while another 10 years will be needed to construct the Béziers-Perpignan section.[54]
See also
- High-speed rail in Spain
- TGV
- AVE- Spanish high-speed train service
References
- ^ a b Document de référence du réseau 2021, Línea Figueras Perpignan SA.
- ^ a b "Un millar de viajeros estrenan el AVE de Girona", El periodico, 9 January 2013.
- ^ "The Mediterranean Rail Corridor will be a reality in 2020". Catalan News. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "European Parliament's final approval of the Mediterranean Railway Corridor". Catalan News. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ a b "Perpignan–Figueras High-speed Rail Line". Structurae. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ "La ligne à grande vitesse Barcelone-Figueras entre en service", article published on 9 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "The Figueras-Perpignan High-Speed Line". globalrailwayreview.com. 15 September 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Figueras–Perpignan high speed rail link". ijglobal.com. 24 June 2005.
- ^ "Continuous growth of the Spanish high speed network". globalrailwayreview.com. 23 August 2005.
- ^ A. Bocabarteille; A. González; B. Celada; J.M. Galera (19 November 2000). "Geotechnical Site Characterisation Of The Perthus Tunnel". ISRM International Symposium.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Perpignan–Figueres concession extended". Railway Gazette International. London, UK. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- ^ "First interoperable rail link opens between Iberian peninsula and France". globalrailwayreview.com. 27 January 2011.
- ^ "Spanish French Border". dragados.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Perthus launched across Pyrenees". tunnelsonline.info. 12 September 2005.
- ^ Celada B. and Galera J. M. (1997). "Rock Mass characterisation of the weak zones at the Perthus Tunnel". geotechpedia.com.
- ^ "La ligne TGV Perpignan–Figueres livrée dans 10 jours, pour rien". La Clau (in French). Perpignan, France. 4 February 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
- ^ "Interrogations sur les tarifs du TGV Perpignan–Figueres". La Clau (in French). Perpignan, France. 10 October 2008. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ "Tunnel with no trains". Railway Gazette International. London. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ "Perpignan – Figueres link inaugurated". Railway Gazette International. London, UK. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Perpignan–Figueres Cross-Border Railway, France". Railway Technology. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ a b Fox, Brendan (December 2010). "New timetables in Europe". Modern Railways. London, UK. pp. 74–77.
- ^ "La ligne TGV de Perpignan" (in French). Histoire du Roussillon. 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ Vleugel, Jaap (October 2006). "Natural cross-border barriers to the development of Trans-European Transport Networks" (Press release). Brussels: EUROPEAN UNION Committee of the Regions. Delft University of Technology. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Inventaire des tunnels ferroviaires de France" (PDF). Galerie de Tresserre LGV. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ "Vitesse maximale nominale sur ligne, "Ligne de Perpignan à Figueras (LGV)"". SNCF Open Data. April 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017..
- ^ "Perpignan-Figueras High-speed Rail Line". Structurae. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ "Madrid - Barcelona - French border line. Barcelona - Figueres section", on the ADIF website.
- ^ Madrid-Barcelona-French Border line on the ADIF website.
- ^ "Girona tunnelling makes progress". London, UK: Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ "Perpignan-Barcelona AVE to open in 2012 or .... 2020?". Today's railways Europe, Issue 140. August 2007. p. 10.
- ^ Barrow, Keith (8 January 2013). "Spain completes Iberia's high-speed link to Europe". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "High speed line opens between Barcelona and Figueres". London, UK: Railway Gazette International. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ Puente, Fernando (10 December 2012). "Barcelona-Figueres HS line to open January 7". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- ^ "Spain completes Iberia's high-speed link to Europe". International Railway Journal. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ "La gare TGV temporaire de Figueres sera prête en 2010". 26 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ^ "Le TGV Perpignan–Girona, promis pour fin 2012". La Clau (in French). Perpignan. 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b "TGV Tickets to Figueres on sale". Railway Gazette International. London. 24 November 2010.
- ^ "High speed line opens between Barcelona and Figueres". Railway Gazette International. 8 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Break of gauge no more". Railway Gazette International. London. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ Communiqué de presse Paris - Barcelone
- ^ "AVE rail connection between Barcelona and Paris to open in December". thinkspain.com.
- ^ "Renfe plans to run new trains to France before summer following end of SNCF cooperation". railtech.com. 11 January 2023.
- ^ Catà Figuls, Josep (19 June 2023). "Renfe irrumpe en el mercado francés con billetes de AVE desde nueve euros hasta Lyon y Marsella". elpais.com (in Spanish).
- ^ "Barcelona - Figueres high speed rail line to open on January 7". International Rail Journal. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
- ^ "Paris-Barcelona TGVs set for December 15 launch". International Railway Journal. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ "A Lyon en AVE a partir de 2012". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- ^ "New Paris to Madrid high-speed service in 2012" (PDF). Railway Herald. No. 205. Scunthorpe. 14 December 2009. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2011.
- ^ "Nîmes–Montpellier bids go in". Railway Gazette International. London. 6 May 2010.
- ^ "Nîmes – Montpellier contract signed". Railway Gazette International. London. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
- ^ "Nîmes – Montpellier bypass carries first freight". Railway Gazette International. 13 December 2017.
- ^ "Gare TGV de Montpellier: quatre premiers trains sans inauguration" (in French). 7 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "Southern LGV projects make progress". Railway Gazette International. London. 9 February 2011.
- ^ "Route approved for Montpellier – Perpignan HSL". International Railway Journal. 3 February 2016.
- ^ "ACTUALITÉS : TGV MONTPELLIER – BÉZIERS – PERPIGNAN : L'état doit respecter sa parole !". herault-tribune.com (in French). 28 November 2018.