The project consists of the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the line from Tours to Bordeaux, in France. It includes the construction of a new 302 kilometer high-speed double track rail line and 40 km of access tracks to the existing railway network and stations, crossing 6 departments and 3 regions. It will comprise about 400 structures including 19 viaducts and 7 cut-and-cover tunnels.
After barely three years of construction, civils work on the 302km long Bordeaux-Tours high speed rail line through south western France is now 90% complete. The inauguration date is set for 2017. The project involves the building of a high speed line between Bordeaux and Tours, at which it will link up with another high speed line running to Paris. The new line will reduce the time it takes to travel from Paris to Bordeaux to around two hours.
Of the EUR 7.8bn upfront investment required, EUR 1bn is coming from French rail operator RFF and another EUR 3bn is in public subsidies paid by the state, local authorities and the European Union. The project concessionaire Lisea (Ligne Sud Europe Atlantique Tours – Bordeaux) is putting up just under half, or EUR 3.8bn. The project represents a 50-year concession contract signed between Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) and Lisea, a company run by Vinci, the leader of the consortium. The 50-year contract covers the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the line. Also, “this is the biggest public-private partnership contract ever signed in France’s rail sector as well as one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects launched over the last decade”, RFF says.
The Tours–Bordeaux HSR project is part of an overall regional development scheme that came out of the Grenelle Environment Forum decisions, which opened the door to high-speed rail projects towards Limoges, Toulouse and Spain. It will boost the growth of freight and regional services on the existing line between Tours and Bordeaux, and should provide a significantly positive response to economic development issues for the regions crossed, the Bordeaux metropolitan area and all cities in south-west France.
The new line will bypass the cities of Libourne, Poitiers and Angoulême with the help of 17 connecting lines to the existing line passing through these cities. The connecting lines will be 38km long in total. Construction of the €6.2bn ($8bn) project is divided into two phases; phase 1 involves the construction of the Angoulême-Bordeaux section and phase 2 involves the Tours-Angoulême section. The line will pass through three regions, Centre, Poitou-Charentes, Aquitaine, and six departments of France.
by Elena Ilie
Share on:
