Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line
Figueres–Vilafant railway station: first TGV arrival from Paris,
December 2010
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerSNCF Réseau (French side),
Adif (Spanish side)
LocaleFrance (Languedoc-Roussillon),
Spain (Catalonia)
Termini
Service
TypeHigh-speed rail
SystemSNCF (in France)
Alta Velocidad Española (in Spain)
Operator(s)SNCF,
Renfe Operadora
Rolling stockSNCF TGV Duplex
AVE Class 100 (from 2014)
RENFE Class 252 (freight services)
History
Opened2013
Technical
Line length175.5 km (109.1 mi)
Number of tracksDouble track
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz
Operating speed
  • Perpignan - Figueres:
  • 300 km/h (190 mph)[1]
  • Figueres - Barcelona:
  • 290 km/h (180 mph)[2]
SignallingERTMS level 2, ASFA
Route map
km0
length
in m
Madrid–Barcelona AVE
to Zaragoza and Madrid
175.9
 Barcelona Sants
Provença-Mallorca tunnel
 Barcelona Sagrera
Barcelona avoiding line
 Montmeló
Llinars crossover
 Riells
 Viloví de Oñar
82.1
 Girona
Vilademuls crossover
Barcelona–Cerbère railway
47.9
 Figueres–Vilafant Renfe
Figueres Tunnel
1,750
44.4
↓ International Section
Viaducte de la Muga
656
Viaducte del Ricardell
570
Viaducte del Bosquerós
90
Viaducte del Gou
270
 
Viaducte del
Nr.2
630
Llobregat
d’Empordà
  Nr.1
108
25.5
Pirineus Tunnel
24.5
Spain
France
border
17.1
Perthus Tunnel
8,300
15.6
Tec River
14.3
Elna – Arles line
12.9
crossover
8.4
Autoroute française 9.svg A 9 Motorway
267
D 612A road
Rand River
180
0.00
↑ International Section
to Vilafranca de Conflent
Narbonne–Portbou railway
to Portbou
 Perpignan St-Charles
 Perpignan
Narbonne–
Portbou railway
(1.5 kV)
 Montpellier Sud de France
Contournement
Nîmes – Montpellier
to Marseille
& Paris
Overview map of the high-speed connections from Barcelona towards France, with the year of opening.

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,[3] 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.[4][5]

History

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).[3] The group constructed the line for an estimated cost of approximately €1.1 billion, and will operate it for 53 years.[6] 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.[7][8][9] 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.[10]

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,[11] and controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona.[12] 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.[13][14][15]

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.[16] The line is used by both passenger and freight trains, the maximum grade being limited to 12 ‰.[16] The design speed is 350 kilometres per hour (220 mph).[17]

This line was the first rail connection between Spain and the rest of Europe constructed without a break-of-gauge[18] 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.[19]

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 / 42.55929; 2.85120).[20]

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)[21] 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.[22]

The line concession was awarded on February 17, 2004 to the TP Ferro consortium, which included the companies Eiffage (France) and ACS / Dragados (Spain). The consortium was in charge of building the line, at an estimated cost of around 1.1 billion euros, and operating it for 50 years. The line was delivered on 17 February 2009, three months after its connection to the French railway network (December 2008). The first train connection did not take place however until 19 December 2010, due to delays in the delivery of the Figueres station, and the first service to Barcelona circulated on 9 January 2013 after the completion of the Figueres-Barcelona line.[23]

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, paid by a toll system. At the start of 2014, the concessionaire experienced a catastrophic financial situation, the collected tolls not making it possible to repay the 500 million euros borrowed from the banks, out of the 1.1 billion euros for the project. In July 2015, the company announced that it was insolvent and on 15 September 2016, the court of Girona ordered the liquidation of TP Ferro. France and Spain, through the Railway infrastructure managers SNCF Réseau and Adif, would take over the line, as well as the debt. This takeover took place on 21 December 2016, by the joint subsidiary “Línia Figueres-Perpinyà” (or “Línea Figueras Perpignan S.A.”), created on 21 October 2016. 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

Maximum speed profile of the "Madrid-Barcelona-French Border" line, in 2015.
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

This 131 km (81.4 mi) line is part of the Spanish "Madrid-Barcelona-French Border" line.[24][25] It is also a mixed-traffic high-speed railway, with an operating speed of up to 290 km/h (180 mph).[2]

Originally planned to open in 2009, the extension of some Madrid-Barcelona routes to Figueres–Vilafant railway station via Girona, opened on 9 January 2013.[24] This connected for the first time the Spanish AVE high-speed network with the French TGV high-speed network.[26] There have been delays in building a four kilometre tunnel in Girona, the first phase of which was finished in September 2010,[27] and controversy over the route between Sants and Sagrera stations in Barcelona.[28] As of January 2013 there are eight trains a day running from Madrid, connecting at Figueres Vilafant with two TGV services to Paris.[29]

Muga Viaducto in the Pont de Molins village, without noise protection screens

Services

A TGV service from Paris via Perpignan started on 19 December 2010 to a temporary station at Figueres[30] and a connecting service on the classic line on to Barcelona and Madrid.[31] 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, 5h 30m was spent on the Paris to Figueres segment.[32] 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.[17][32] 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.[33]

Renfe started a standard-gauge freight service on 21 December 2010.[34] 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.[34]

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.[35][36] 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.[37][38]

Since December 2013 the journey time for the TGV Paris–Barcelona service has been 6 hours 25 minutes.[39]

Expansion

Operating

Lyon to Barcelona is expected to take less than four hours[40] using the standard line 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.[41]

Tendering for the Nîmes–Montpellier bypass route started in May 2010. This is the first stage in the link between the Spanish high-speed network and LGV Méditerranée and the line will carry a mix of freight and high-speed trains.[42] 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.[43][44][45]

Future

Work on the 150 kilometres (93 mi) LGV Montpellier–Perpignan is not expected to start before 2020, following public consultation beginning 2015.[46] However, the preliminary high-speed route and station locations were approved by the French transport ministry in February 2016.[47] 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.[48]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Document de référence du réseau 2021, Línea Figueras Perpignan SA.
  2. 1 2 "Un millar de viajeros estrenan el AVE de Girona", El periodico, 9 January 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Perpignan–Figueras High-speed Rail Line". Structurae. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "The Mediterranean Rail Corridor will be a reality in 2020". Catalan News. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "European Parliament's final approval of the Mediterranean Railway Corridor". Catalan News. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Perpignan–Figueres concession extended". Railway Gazette International. London. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "La ligne TGV Perpignan–Figueres livrée 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.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Tunnel with no trains". Railway Gazette International. London. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  10. ↑ "Perpignan – Figueres link inaugurated". Railway Gazette International. London. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Railway Gazette: Girona tunnelling makes progress". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Perpignan-Barcelona AVE to open in 2012 or .... 2020?". Today's railways Europe, Issue 140. August 2007. p. 10.
  13. ↑ Keith Barrow (8 January 2013). "Spain completes Iberia's high-speed link to Europe". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "High speed line opens between Barcelona and Figueres". Railway Gazette. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  15. ↑ Fernando Puente (10 December 2012). "Barcelona-Figueres HS line to open January 7". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Perpignan–Figueres Cross-Border Railway, France". Railway Technology. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  17. 1 2 Fox, Brendan (December 2010). "New timetables in Europe". Modern Railways. London. pp. 74–77.
  18. ↑ "La ligne TGV de Perpignan" (in French). Histoire du Roussillon. 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ "Inventaire des tunnels ferroviaires de France" (PDF). Galerie de Tresserre LGV. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  21. ↑ "Vitesse maximale nominale sur ligne, "Ligne de Perpignan à Figueras (LGV)"". SNCF Open Data. April 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2017..
  22. ↑ "Perpignan-Figueras High-speed Rail Line". Structurae. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
  23. ↑ "La ligne à grande vitesse Barcelone-Figueras entre en service", article published on 9 January 2013.
  24. 1 2 "Madrid - Barcelona - French border line. Barcelona - Figueres section", on the ADIF website.
  25. ↑ Madrid-Barcelona-French Border line on the ADIF website.
  26. ↑ "Spain completes Iberia's high-speed link to Europe". International Railway Journal. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "Railway Gazette: Girona tunnelling makes progress". Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  28. ↑ "Perpignan-Barcelona AVE to open in 2012 or .... 2020?". Today's railways Europe, Issue 140. August 2007. p. 10.
  29. ↑ "Barcelona - Figueres high speed rail line to open on January 7". International Rail Journal. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  30. ↑ "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.
  31. ↑ "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.
  32. 1 2 "TGV Tickets to Figueres on sale". Railway Gazette International. London. 24 November 2010.
  33. ↑ "High speed line opens between Barcelona and Figueres". Railway Gazette International. 8 January 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Break of gauge no more". Railway Gazette International. London. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  35. ↑ Communiqué de presse Paris - Barcelone
  36. ↑ "AVE rail connection between Barcelona and Paris to open in December". thinkspain.com.
  37. ↑ "Renfe plans to run new trains to France before summer following end of SNCF cooperation". railtech.com. 11 January 2023.
  38. ↑ 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).
  39. ↑ "Paris-Barcelona TGVs set for December 15 launch". International Railway Journal. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  40. ↑ "A Lyon en AVE a partir de 2012". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  41. ↑ "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.
  42. ↑ "Nîmes–Montpellier bids go in". Railway Gazette International. London. 6 May 2010.
  43. ↑ "Nîmes – Montpellier contract signed". Railway Gazette International. London. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  44. ↑ "Nîmes – Montpellier bypass carries first freight". Railway Gazette International. 13 December 2017.
  45. ↑ "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.
  46. ↑ "Southern LGV projects make progress". Railway Gazette International. London. 9 February 2011.
  47. ↑ "Route approved for Montpellier – Perpignan HSL". International Railway Journal. 3 February 2016.
  48. ↑ "ACTUALITÉS : TGV MONTPELLIER – BÉZIERS – PERPIGNAN : L'état doit respecter sa parole !". herault-tribune.com (in French). 28 November 2018.
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