LGV Rhône-Alpes


The LGV Rhône-Alpes is a French high-speed rail line situated in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region which extends the LGV Sud-Est southwards. Opening to service in 1994, this line bypasses the built-up Lyon area towards the east, and in addition serves Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry. Beyond Valence the line is continued by the LGV Méditerranée.
The line was constructed in two sections, north and south. The first section was opened in time for the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.

Route

The line crosses four departments from north to south: Ain, Rhône, Isère and Drôme.
The route of the new line represents a total length of 115 km; 42 km from Montanay to Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, and 73 km from Saint-Quentin-Fallavier to Valence. The line is connected to the regular network by links at Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, enabling links to Savoie, Isère and Italy via Chambéry and Modane.

Line specifics

The line has a surface area of 12.18 km².
Like the LGV Sud-Est, the line was designed for a nominal speed of 300 km/h, with a minimum curve radius of 4,000 m, and a space between track centres of 4.2 m. The second section is designed for 320 km/h.
The line includes 10 large viaducts, and 4 tunnels.
A command post named CCT enables the continual monitoring of trains running on the entire line and to remotely control security installations. It is situated in Lyon, in an SNCF building near the gare de Perrache.

Stations

The line comprises one new station:
Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry, situated in the commune of Colombier-Saugnieu. This station, with its striking architecture, is the work of the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. It serves the Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport.

History