[dwb]

This news item on the BBC reports the opening of the new TGV-Est line from Paris to Strasbourg. The journey time is forecast to be 2 hours 20 minutes down from the current 4 hours with trains travelling at up to 200mph.

During my journeys to and from Switzerland for my holidays along the autoroute from Calais via Strasbourg to Mulhouse and then Basle over the last couple of years I have seen parts of this new railway take shape.

David

 

[Ravenser]

One sobering statistic is a total cost of £2.7 billion . Several times that figure has been spent in just over 100 miles from St Pancras gto Calais Frethun , though of course CTRL and Eurotunnel are vastly more heavily engineered

 

[dwb]

It would be interesting to see how the cost of land goes into make the figures. From my travels along the route from Rheims eastwards, most of the LGV-Est route appears to be in farmland.

David

 

[neil_s_wood]

It makes me really jealous when I see what other countries get who invest in their railways. I'd like to get on trains like that.

 

[Doug]

I was going to post this, but you guys beat me to it.

It is a fantastic project. I'll use the line in the next year for sure. It cuts two hours from the Paris to Zurich rout that I usually take. Not that I'm in a rush, actually it takes a more boring route, but it is fast. And cheaper than the car.

fiddle-yard:

Take a look here for a collection of photos of the building of the line.

Look here for some images of the stations.

 

[dwb]

If you want to do some "TGV spotting" on this line while you travel along the A4 towards Paris, you should stop at "Aire de Noblette". It's between Sainte Menehould and the junction with the A26. It's one of those "forest picnic" stops. The picnic benches have a good view across the fields to the railway line. We saw a couple of TGVs go through during our 30 minute break for lunch which we had bought at the preceding service area. If the farmer plants maize, the view might be more restricted.

David

 

[John]

Dear All,

This has had the effect of removing all direct trains from Vienna to Paris from the timetable, as non-TGV trains are no longer allowed on the Paris-Strasbourg stretch. There used to be a really convenient overnight train, which has gone now, as you have to change in Strasbourg in the ealry hours of the morning. Instead of just one change in Paris, we now have at least 2 from Vienna to London.

I just hope they will finish upgrading the lines from Vienna to Munich and we will then get some kind of fast train from Vienna to London at least once a day.

 

[dwb]

QUOTE as non-TGV trains are no longer allowed on the Paris-Strasbourg stretch.
The parts I have seen alongside the A4 motorway are completely new. Are there other parts of the old route which is shared? I guess it doesn't matter what the reason is if they've taken away your train. Whilst not in the same league, the "new improved" timetable introduced in our region (Western) last year was a step backwards for us.

David