The Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed line is an international high-speed rail line between France and 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. It crosses the French–Spanish border via the 8.3-kilometre (5.2 mi) Perthus Tunnel bored under the Perthus Pass,[1] connecting two cities on opposite sides of the border, Perpignan in Roussillon, France, and Figueres in Catalonia, Spain. The line extends to Barcelona, and this part 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.[2][3]
The construction contract for the international section of the line between Perpignan and Figueres was awarded on 17 February 2004 to the TP Ferro consortium, a joint venture of Eiffage (France) and Dragados (Spain).[1] The group constructed the line for an estimated cost of approximately €1.1 billion, and will operate it for 53 years.[4] It received a public subsidy of €540 million, split between the European Union, France and Spain.
Test running started in November 2008, and the international section officially opened on 17 February 2009, but services were delayed until December 2010 because the station at Figueres was not finished.[5][6][7] 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.[8]
The Spanish 131-kilometre (81.4 mi) Barcelona–Figueres section was originally planned to open in 2009 but there were delays in building a 4-kilometre tunnel in Girona, the first phase of which was finished in September 2010,[9] and controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona.[10] 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.[11][12][13]
Line
The track on the new line is standard gauge using 25 kV AC railway electrification at 50 Hz, consistent with the French LGV and Spanish AVE high-speed rail networks.[14] The line is used by both passenger and freight trains, the maximum grade being limited to 12 ‰.[14] The design speed is 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph).[15]
This line was the first rail connection between Spain and the rest of Europe constructed without a break-of-gauge[16] and the first international connection to the standard-gauge Spanish AVE network. Traditional Spanish rail lines are broad gauge based on the Spanish vara 1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in), so rail connections between France and Spain have traditionally involved a break-of-gauge, implying that passengers and cargo must either change trains, or the trains must pass through gauge-changing installations at the border. Another same-gauge connection to France is planned near the Atlantic coast in the Basque country, and a third link via Huesca crossing the central Pyrenees mountains through a 40 kilometres (25 mi) tunnel is under study.[17]
Figueres-Vilafant railway station under construction in August 2010. French TGVs from Paris terminated here between 2011 and 2013, connecting with a Spanish train to Barcelona
Services
A TGV service from Paris via Perpignan started on 19 December 2010 to a temporary station at Figueres[19] and a connecting service on the classic line on to Barcelona and Madrid.[20] The total journey time from Paris to Barcelona has been reduced by 1h 15m to 7h 25m (current Paris-Barcelona travel time by train is 6h 41m). Of that,[which?] 5h 30m was spent on the Paris to Figueres segment.[21] Initially there was a service of two Paris-Figueres TGVs per day, which connected with two RENFE Alvia trains a day between Barcelona and Figueres via the conventional broad gauge line and a temporary double gauge track.[15][21] From January 2013 there was a service of nine RENFE AVE trains a day between Figueres and Barcelona with eight services continuing on to Madrid.[22]
RENFE started a standard-gauge freight service on 21 December 2010.[23] 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.[23]
On 28 November 2013, RENFE and SNCF announced the opening of direct long-distance services from 15 December 2013, with daily trains between Paris – Barcelona, Toulouse – Barcelona, Lyon – Barcelona, Marseille – Madrid.[24] Since December 2013 the journey time for the TGV Paris–Barcelona service has been 6 hours 25 minutes.[25]
Expansion
Operating
Lyon to Barcelona is expected to take less than four hours[26][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.[27]
Work on the 150 kilometres (93 mi) LGV Montpellier–Perpignan is not expected to start before 2020, following public consultation beginning 2015.[32] However, the preliminary high-speed route and station locations were approved by the French transport ministry in February 2016.[33] 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.[34]
^ abFox, Brendan (December 2010). "New timetables in Europe". Modern Railways. London. pp. 74–77.
^"La ligne TGV de Perpignan" (in French). Histoire du Roussillon. 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
^Dr. Jaap Vleugel (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.
^. 26 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
^. La Clau (in French). Perpignan. 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
^ ab"TGV Tickets to Figueres on sale". Railway Gazette International. London. 24 November 2010.
^ (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.
External links
LGV Map on Google Maps
A photo of the end of the line
Perpignan–Barcelona in 50 mins
Entry on Ferrocarriles wiki (in Spanish)
March 03, 2023
perpignan, barcelona, high, speed, rail, line, perpignan, barcelona, high, speed, line, international, high, speed, rail, line, between, france, spain, line, consists, kilometre, railway, which, france, spain, crosses, french, spanish, border, kilometre, perth. The Perpignan Barcelona high speed line is an international high speed rail line between France and 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 It crosses the French Spanish border via the 8 3 kilometre 5 2 mi Perthus Tunnel bored under the Perthus Pass 1 connecting two cities on opposite sides of the border Perpignan in Roussillon France and Figueres in Catalonia Spain The line extends to Barcelona and this part 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 2 3 Perpignan Barcelona high speed rail lineFigueres Vilafant railway station first TGV arrival from Paris December 2010OverviewStatusOperationalOwnerSNCF Reseau French side Adif Spanish side LocaleFrance Languedoc Roussillon Spain Catalonia TerminiGare de PerpignanBarcelona Sants railway stationServiceTypeHigh speed railSystemSNCF in France Alta Velocidad Espanola in Spain Operator s SNCF Renfe OperadoraRolling stockSNCF TGV DuplexAVE Class 100 from 2014 RENFE Class 252 freight services HistoryOpened2013TechnicalLine length175 5 km 109 1 mi Number of tracksDouble trackTrack gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gaugeElectrification25 kV 50 HzOperating speed320 km h 200 mph SignallingERTMS level 2 ASFARoute mapLegendkm0 lengthin mMadrid Barcelona AVEto Zaragosa and Madrid175 9 Barcelona SantsProvenca Mallorca tunnelBarcelona SagreraBarcelona avoiding lineMontmeloLlinars crossoverRiellsVilovi de Onar82 1 GironaVilademuls crossoverBarcelona Cerbere railway47 9 Figueres VilafantFigueres Tunnel 1 75044 4 International SectionViaducte de la Muga 656Viaducte del Ricardell 570Viaducte del Bosqueros 90Viaducte del Gou 270 Viaducte del Nr 2 630Llobregatd Emporda Nr 1 10825 5 Pirineus Tunnel24 5 SpainFrance border17 1 Perthus Tunnel 8 30015 6 Tec River14 3 Elna Arles line12 9 crossover8 4 A 9 Motorway 267D 612A roadRand River 1800 00 International Sectionto Vilafranca de ConflentNarbonne Portbou railwayto PortbouPerpignan St CharlesPerpignanNarbonne Portbou railway 1 5 kV Montpellier Sud de FranceContournementNimes Montpellier to Marseille amp ParisThis diagram viewtalkeditOverview map of the high speed connections from Barcelona towards France with the year of opening Muga Viaducto in the Pont de Molins village without noise protection screens Contents 1 History 2 Line 3 Services 4 Expansion 4 1 Operating 4 2 Future 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditThe construction contract for the international section of the line between Perpignan and Figueres was awarded on 17 February 2004 to the TP Ferro consortium a joint venture of Eiffage France and Dragados Spain 1 The group constructed the line for an estimated cost of approximately 1 1 billion and will operate it for 53 years 4 It received a public subsidy of 540 million split between the European Union France and Spain Test running started in November 2008 and the international section officially opened on 17 February 2009 but services were delayed until December 2010 because the station at Figueres was not finished 5 6 7 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 8 The Spanish 131 kilometre 81 4 mi Barcelona Figueres section was originally planned to open in 2009 but there were delays in building a 4 kilometre tunnel in Girona the first phase of which was finished in September 2010 9 and controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona 10 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 11 12 13 Line EditThe track on the new line is standard gauge using 25 kV AC railway electrification at 50 Hz consistent with the French LGV and Spanish AVE high speed rail networks 14 The line is used by both passenger and freight trains the maximum grade being limited to 12 14 The design speed is 350 kilometres per hour 220 mph 15 This line was the first rail connection between Spain and the rest of Europe constructed without a break of gauge 16 and the first international connection to the standard gauge Spanish AVE network Traditional Spanish rail lines are broad gauge based on the Spanish vara 1 668 mm 5 ft 5 21 32 in so rail connections between France and Spain have traditionally involved a break of gauge implying that passengers and cargo must either change trains or the trains must pass through gauge changing installations at the border Another same gauge connection to France is planned near the Atlantic coast in the Basque country and a third link via Huesca crossing the central Pyrenees mountains through a 40 kilometres 25 mi tunnel is under study 17 France has left hand traffic and Spain right hand 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 42 55929 2 85120 18 Figueres Vilafant railway station under construction in August 2010 French TGVs from Paris terminated here between 2011 and 2013 connecting with a Spanish train to BarcelonaServices EditA TGV service from Paris via Perpignan started on 19 December 2010 to a temporary station at Figueres 19 and a connecting service on the classic line on to Barcelona and Madrid 20 The total journey time from Paris to Barcelona has been reduced by 1h 15m to 7h 25m current Paris Barcelona travel time by train is 6h 41m Of that which 5h 30m was spent on the Paris to Figueres segment 21 Initially there was a service of two Paris Figueres TGVs per day which connected with two RENFE Alvia trains a day between Barcelona and Figueres via the conventional broad gauge line and a temporary double gauge track 15 21 From January 2013 there was a service of nine RENFE AVE trains a day between Figueres and Barcelona with eight services continuing on to Madrid 22 RENFE started a standard gauge freight service on 21 December 2010 23 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 23 On 28 November 2013 RENFE and SNCF announced the opening of direct long distance services from 15 December 2013 with daily trains between Paris Barcelona Toulouse Barcelona Lyon Barcelona Marseille Madrid 24 Since December 2013 the journey time for the TGV Paris Barcelona service has been 6 hours 25 minutes 25 Expansion EditOperating Edit Lyon to Barcelona is expected to take less than four hours 26 needs update using the standard line clarification needed in France between Perpignan and Nimes 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 27 Tendering for the Nimes Montpellier bypass route started in May 2010 This is the first stage in the link between the Spanish high speed network and LGV Mediterranee and the line will carry a mix of freight and high speed trains 28 A 25 year Public Private Partnership agreement was signed in June 2012 construction works completed in December 2017 and the first passenger services to Montpellier Sud de France station commenced on 7 July 2018 29 30 31 Future Edit Work on the 150 kilometres 93 mi LGV Montpellier Perpignan is not expected to start before 2020 following public consultation beginning 2015 32 However the preliminary high speed route and station locations were approved by the French transport ministry in February 2016 33 Construction for the Montpellier Beziers section is forecast to last 10 years while another 10 years will be needed to construct the Beziers Perpignan section 34 See also EditHigh speed rail in Spain TGV AVE Spanish high speed train serviceReferences Edit a b Perpignan Figueras High speed Rail Line Structurae Retrieved 30 January 2009 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 Perpignan Figueres concession extended Railway Gazette International London 24 November 2009 Retrieved 1 December 2010 La ligne TGV Perpignan Figueres livree dans 10 jours pour rien La Clau in French Perpignan 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 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 27 January 2011 Retrieved 31 January 2011 Railway Gazette Girona tunnelling makes progress Railway Gazette Retrieved 2 November 2015 Perpignan Barcelona AVE to open in 2012 or 2020 Today s railways Europe Issue 140 August 2007 p 10 Keith Barrow 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 Railway Gazette 8 January 2013 Retrieved 16 November 2015 Fernando Puente 10 December 2012 Barcelona Figueres HS line to open January 7 International Railway Journal Retrieved 16 November 2015 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 pp 74 77 La ligne TGV de Perpignan in French Histoire du Roussillon 2008 Retrieved 30 January 2009 Dr Jaap Vleugel 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 La gare TGV temporaire de Figueres sera prete 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 Communique de presse Paris Barcelone 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 Pais 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 Nimes Montpellier bids go in Railway Gazette International London 6 May 2010 Nimes Montpellier contract signed Railway Gazette International London 29 June 2012 Retrieved 14 November 2013 Nimes 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 ACTUALITES TGV MONTPELLIER BEZIERS PERPIGNAN L etat doit respecter sa parole herault tribune com in French 28 November 2018 External links EditLGV Map on Google Maps A photo of the end of the line Perpignan Barcelona in 50 mins Entry on Ferrocarriles wiki in Spanish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Perpignan Barcelona high speed rail line amp oldid 1139238209, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
