French TGV Network Development

download French TGV Network Development

If you can't read please download the document

Transcript of French TGV Network Development

  • 40 Years of High-speed Railways

    Feature

    Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 200522 Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    French TGV Network Development

    Jean-Pierre Arduin and Jincheng Ni

    Past TGV Developments

    The 1981 opening of the French TGV Sud-Est linking Paris and Lyon was a milestonein both the history of transportation andthe history of railways with similarimportance to the 1964 unveiling of theshinkansen in Japan. Since that first bullettrain, high-speed rail has continued toenjoy great technical and commercialsuccess in all countries that have adoptedthe technology. Not only is high-speedrail fast, it has also proved to be a safe,comfortable and efficient transport modefor the general population. In short, it hasrevitalized railway transport and hasbecome a symbol of modern society.High-speed rail is a well-proven systemthat has become a landmark in worldtransport and railway history. The TGVSud-Est was Europes first high-speedline and there is no doubt about theTGVs technical excellence after theworld wheel-on-rail speed record of515.3 km/h was set in 1990 on thesouth-western section of the TGVAtlantique. The 20 years from 1981 to 2001have seen the progressive opening ofthe TGV Atlantique (1990), the TGVNord Europe (1993), and the TGVMditerrane (2001), substantiating thereliability of the TGV technologies inactual operations.

    This article discusses the high-speedrailway in France with focus on pastdevelopment of the TGV network, thepresent construction of the TGV Est, andfuture prospects based on the Frenchmaster plan for high-speed railwaysadopted in December 2003.

    Operating French TGV Network

    Technical choicesFrench National Railways (SNCF)started airing the first defining conceptsof high-speed railway in France in 1970with a proposal to construct a new linebetween Paris and Lyon based on threeprinciples: dedicated line for passengertraffic, compatibility with existing

    railway network, and high-frequencyoperations with short journey times.These choices proved to be right andmade it possible to reduce the cost ofconstructing new lines, achieve highoperating speeds of 240270 km/h,optimize capacity of new TGV lines,reduce operating and maintenancecosts of the new lines and rolling stock,and free-up freight capacit ies onexisting conventional lines. All thesefactors contributed to traffic growth andto the increased profitability of thehigh-speed railways.An especially unique feature of theFrench TGV is i ts relat ively lowconstruction costs. The first TGV Sud-Est cost just $4 million per km, the lowestfigure worldwide (Table 1). More recent

    Figure 1 TGV High-speed Lines

    Mediterranean Sea

    DsseldorfCologneBrussels

    Valence

    Lyon

    Tours

    Le Mans

    OostendOostendOostendCalaisCalaisCalais

    LilleLilleLille

    AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam

    London

    Paris

    BogneuxMarne la ValleeMarne la ValleeMarne la Vallee

    St-Florentin

    Airport CDG

    Rennes

    Geneva

    Namur

    BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux

    MarseilleMarseilleMarseille

    MontpellierAvignon

    Toulouse

    Nantes

    UKNetherlandsNetherlandsNetherlands

    Germany

    Belgium

    Switzerland

    Italy

    Spain

    1994Channel Tunnel

    198990TGV Atlantique

    2001TGV Mditerrane

    198183TGV Sud-Est

    199496TGV Paris interconnections

    199294TGV Rhne-Alpes

    1993TGV Nord Europe

    Table 1 High-speed LinesConstruction Costs per km

    France & Spain US$10 million

    Belgium & Germany US$15 million

    Italy US$25 million

    Netherlands US$53 million

    UK US$74 million

    Taiwan US$37 million

    Korea US$35 million

  • Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 2005 23Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    projects cost about $10 million per kmand the newest TGV Mditerrane withseven long viaducts (17.155 km) and onelong tunnel (12.768 km) still cost only$15 million per km.

    French TGV linesThe French TGV network today totals1520 operation-km (Fig. 1) as follows: TGV Sud-Est (417 km): opened in

    1981 (St-FlorentinLyon Sathonay);142-km extension in 1983 (Combs laVille (Paris)St-Florentin)

    TGV Atlantique (281 km): opened in1989 (Bagneux (Paris)ConnerrJunction (Le Mans)); 101-km extensionin 1990 (Courtalain JunctionMontsJunction (Tours))

    TGV Nord Europe (333 km): openedin 1993 for ParisLille and LilleCalais

    TGV Paris interconnections (104 km):opened in 1994; 17-km extension linkin 1996 connecting TVG NordEurope, Sud-Est, and Atlantique

    TGV Rhne-Alpes (121 km): openedin 1992 (Montanay JunctionSatolasAirport); 84-km extension in 1994(Satolas AirportSt Marcel les Valence)

    TGV Mditerrane (251 km): openedin 2001 (ValenceMarseille/Nmes)

    Currently, the 1070 km of unbrokenTGV track running from the ChannelTunnel at Calais in the extreme northof France to Marseille in the extremesouth of France on the MediterraneanSea can be traversed by a TGV train ina little more than 3 hours at 300 km/h.It is also worth noting that all the FrenchTGV lines are interconnected.

    TGV Through operations onconventional networkSince the TGV system was designed fromthe start to be compatible with the existingconventional rail network, TGV trains canrun on a much wider network than thededicated high-speed lines (Fig. 2). TheTGV Paris interconnections also enable

    Figure 2 TGV Service Network

    1994Channel Tunnel

    198990TGV Atlantique

    198183TGV Sud-Est

    199496TGV Paris interconnections

    199294TGV Rhne-Alpes

    1993TGV Nord Europe

    BesanconBesancon

    BrigBrig

    VentmicliaVentmiclia

    Aix en ProvenceAix en Provence

    PerpignanPerpignan

    ArcachonArcachon

    La RochelleLa Rochelle

    Les Sables d'olonneLes Sables d'olonne

    Le CrosicLe Crosic

    Brussels

    ParisParisParis

    NantesNantesNantes

    Lyon

    GenevaGenevaGeneva

    Dijon Besancon

    Stetienne

    Valence Turin

    Milan

    Zrich

    Brig

    MarseilleMarseilleMarseille

    Avignon Ventmiclia

    Aix en ProvenceMontpellierToulouse

    Perpignan

    BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux

    Arcachon

    Irun

    Tarbes

    Le Crosic

    Les Sables d'olonne

    La Rochelle

    QuimperQuimperQuimper

    BrestBrestBrest

    RennesRennesRennes

    2001TGV Mditerrane

    to London DunkerqueDunkerqueDunkerqueCalais

    RouenLe HavreLe HavreLe Havre

    Boulogne

    Valenciennes

    Figure 3 TGV Times from Paris

    Cologne

    AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam

    BrusselsBrusselsBrussels

    London

    Paris

    GenevaGenevaGenevaLyon

    Bordeaux

    MarseilleMarseilleMarseille

    Nantes Tours

    Lille

    ParisLyon (427 km): 1:55

    ParisMarseilles (749 km): 3:00

    ParisBordeaux (569 km): 2:59

    ParisTours (223 km): 0:58

    ParisNantes (387 km): 1:59

    ParisLille (226 km): 0:59

    ParisBrussels (314 km): 1:25

    ParisLondon (498 km): 2:40

    ParisGeneva (540 km): 3:30

    ParisAmsterdam (494 km): 4:10

    ParisCologne (541 km): 4:00

    LondonBrussels (360 km): 2:20

    BrusselsCologne (227 km): 2:20

  • Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 200524

    40 Years of High-speed Railways

    Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    Table 2 TGV Train Sets

    TGV Sud-EstFleet: 110First service: 1981Output: 6420 kWCatenary design: 25 kV/50 Hz + 1500 Vdc + 15 kV/16.7 HzTrain protection systems: TVM 300/TVM 430 + KVB*Renovations in 1996 and 1999

    TGV RseauFleet: 89First service: 1993Output: 8800 kWCatenary design: 25 kV/50 Hz + 1500 Vdc + 15 kV/16.7 HzTrain protection systems: TVM 430 + KVB + TBL + ATB + R54* Of which 10 PBA

    EurostarFleet: 31First service: 1994Output: 12,240 kWCatenary design: 750 Vdc + 25 kV/50 Hz + 3000 VdcTrain protection systems: AWS/TPWS + TVM 430 + KVB + TBL* 16 SNCF, 4 SNCB and 11 BR

    TGV AtlantiqueFleet: 105First service: 1989Output: 8800 kWCatenary design: 25 kV/50 Hz + 1500 VdcTrain protection systems: TVM 300/TVM 430 + KVB

    TGV DuplexFleet: 36First service: 1996Output: 8800 kWCatenary design: 25 kV/50 Hz + 1500 VdcTrain protection systems: TVM 430 + KVB

    ThalysFleet: 17First service: 1996Output: 8800 kWCatenary design: 25 kV/50 Hz + 1500 Vdc + 15 kV/16.7 Hz + 3000 VdcTrain protection systems: TVM 430 + KVB + TBL + ATB + Indusi + LZB* 6 SNCF, 7 SNCB, 2 NS and 2 DB AG

    (Photos: SNCF)

  • Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 2005 25Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    the TGV to serve the French regionswithout passing through Paris.Moreover, TGV trains can also directlyserve the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands,Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

    Trip timesAs shown in Figure 3, the TGV networkhas dramatically changed the geographyof France in terms of trip times from Paris.

    TGV Train setsConcurrent with the high-speed lineadvances, SNCF has under takencomprehensive development of TGV trainset designs. The current fleet of 388 trainsets contains five TGV generations,including Eurostar and Thalys, distributedas shown in Table 2.

    TGV Success Story

    Not only is the TGV a technical success,it is also a commercial success.Since the first commissioning of theTGV in 1981, the TGV traffic volumeh a s i n c r e a s e d c o n t i n u o u s l y a sdifferent TGV lines have come intoservice in the 20 years from 1981 to2001 (Figs. 4 and 5). About 250,000passengers take one of the 600 TGV

    trains operating each day; yearly TGVtraffic totals 90 million passengers.By the end of 2003, the TGVs had carrieda total of more than 1 billion passengers,indicating their success as a fast, safe,frequent, comfortable and efficient meansof transport accessible to all.In term of passenger-km and commercialrevenue, TGV traffic comprises about75% of total SNCF main-line traffic.Operation of TGV trains in France and inneighbouring countries (includingEurostar and Thalys services) is a mainprofit centre for SNCF.Experience shows an immediate reactionby the public after a new TGV is opened.Sources of increased traffic are passengerschanging from air and road transport dueto the value added by the TGV in term ofshorter trip times, frequent services, highcomfort and competitive fares.The impact of high-speed rail on airtravel is unquestionable; air routes incompetition with the TGVs have allseen similar drops in volume, especiallyon journeys with a trip time of less than3 hours. The impact on road transportis also clearindices for traffic showthat motorways in competition withTGVs experience a decrease in trafficgrowth. As an added benefit, the dropin air and road traffic decreases the

    negative impact of pollution, etc., on theenvironment due to the environmentfriendly nature of the TGV.

    Synergy between TGVand Aeroplanes

    France has developed the synergybetween the TGV and air services to agreat degree. For example, two airportsRoissy Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)near Paris, and Lyon Saint Exupry (LYS)have TGV stations in the airport itself. TheTGV Air service from CDG combinesinternational flights operated by manyairlines and TGV journeys to form aunique trip on a single ticket to thefollowing destinations: Aix-en-ProvenceTGV, Angers, Avignon TGV, BordeauxSaint-Jean, Le Mans, Lille-Europe, LyonPart-Dieu, Marseille Saint-Charles,Montpellier, Nantes, Nmes, Poitiers,Rennes, Saint-Pierre-des-Corps Tours,Valence TGV. TGV Air is not onlypromoted by SNCF but also by travelagencies and world airlines. In 2004, AirFrance, Air Austral, American Airlines,Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM,Lufthansa and United Airlines were allTGV Air partners, and other airlines areplanning to join.

    Figure 4 Annual Growth in TGV Traffic

    0

    20

    40

    60

    80

    100

    120

    1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

    Pas

    seng

    ers

    (million)

    Figure 5 Cumulative TGV Passenger Totals

    0

    200

    400

    600

    800

    1000

    1200

    1400

    1600

    1800

    1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

    Pas

    seng

    ers

    (million)

  • Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 200526

    40 Years of High-speed Railways

    Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    TGV Station at Roissy Charles deGaulle AirportThe TGV station in CDG Terminal 2 openedin 1994 to provide a quick and convenientconnection between the train and plane.The station has four floors, offering variousservices, including information points,ticket windows, a bar, a restaurant, moneychanging, car rentals, childrens nursery,showers, washrooms, etc.The TGV services from CDG operate overthe Nord Europe, Sud-Est, Mditerrane,and Atlantique TGV lines, as well as theThalys network. In 2002, the CDG TGVstation handled about 2.5 millionpassengers and this volume is expectedto increase as the airport traffic grows.

    View of TGV station and terminals at LYS (SNCF)

    View of TGV Station and terminals at CDG (SNCF) TGV Station in CDG (SNCF)

    TGV Station in LYS (SNCF)

    TGV station at Lyon-SaintExupry AirportThe TGV station at the heart of LYS openedin 1994. It was designed by the famousSpanish architect M. Santiago Calatrava.The architecture is audacious, combiningan aesthetic landmark exterior withinternal functionality.Since construction of the third airport forthe Paris region was cancelled, LYS has livedup to its ambition to become the secondlargest airport in France. Its trump card isits connection with the expanding Europeanhigh-speed network. This advantage willmake LYS a unique multi-modal transportbase for Europe. Currently, there are about9 million people living within 90 minutesof LYS; by 2015, there will be 21 millionpeople (excluding Paris) living within 2 hours.

    In 2002, the TGV station at LYS handled300,000 passengers, a 19% year-on-year increase. This traffic will continuegrowing in the future with additionalTGV trains to the south and south-eastof France and the commercialization ofservices like TGV Air, combining airf l ights with TGV tr ipsa perfectcomplement between train and plane.

    TGV East under Construction

    After the TGV Mditerrane, the next TGVproject to be opened (in 2007) will be theTGV East from Paris to Strasbourg. Theentire project comprises 406 km of newlines reaching to Vendenheim nearStrasbourg. The first phase, which is

  • Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 2005 27Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    already budgeted for, comprises 300 km,linking Vaires-sur-Marne near Paris toBaudrecourt in the Moselle as well as tothe existing railway network, serving asmany destinations directly without theneed to make a connection.The project also includes improvementsto terminal lines and facilities, especiallybetween the Gare de lEst station in Parisand Vaires-sur-Marne as well as on theStrasbourgKehl main line. Furthermore,the lines through the Vosges valleys willbe electrified ready for the new high-speed trains. Thanks to the East FranceEuropean HSR, Paris will be linked to themajor cities of eastern France, and theeastern regions will be connected to the

    Figure 6 TGV Est Journey Times

    ZurichBasle

    Nancy

    Reims

    Metz

    Mulhouse

    Munich

    Stuttgart

    Karlsruhe

    Mannheim

    Frankfurt

    Strasbourg

    Saarbrcken

    Chlons-en- Champagne

    Luxembourg

    ParisRemiremont: 2:45Meuse regionLille: 1:45MeuseCDG: 55 minLorraineRennes/Nantes: 3:50Marne la Valle (Disneyland Paris)Champagne-Ardenne station: 0:35ParisNancy/Metz: 1:30

    ParisParisParis0 h 55 min1 h 20 min

    3 h 30 min4 h 50 min

    with TGV Estwithout TGV Est

    0 h 45 min1 h 25 min

    1 h 30 min2 h 40 min

    2 h 15 min3 h 35 min 1 h 50 min

    3 h 45 min

    3 h 45 min6 h 00 min

    3 h 05 min5 h 10 min

    3 h 00 min5 h 00 min

    6 h 00 min8 h 18 min

    4 h 30 min5 h 55 min

    3 h 30 min4 h 50 min

    3 h 10 min4 h 16 min

    1 h 30 min2 h 38 min

    3 h 50 min5 h 54 min

    2 h 20 min3 h 53 min

    high-speed network serving northern,western and south-western France, givingbirth to a new European network.

    Speed and travel timesThe first 300 km linking Vaires-sur-Marneto Baudrecourt in Moselle will supportspeeds up to 350 km/hcommercialoperations will start at 320 km/h. Sometypical journey times are shown inFigure 6.

    TGV Est financingThis project was born after many studiesto define a specific financing packageand a route respecting the naturalenvironment and surroundings. As the

    first infrastructure project of its kind tobe declared a public utility by theMinistry of the Environment, the EastFrance European HSR line is also the firstrailways to be financed largely by theFrench regions and the European Union(EU). The total cost is about 4 billion(1 = US$1.20 ) appor t ioned asfollows: 61% public funds (Frenchgovernment, 17 local authorities, EUand Luxembourg); 17% RFF, and 22%SNCF (including 800 million forTGV rolling stock).

    Commercial network and trafficforecastWith a 300-km new high-speed line from

  • Japan Railway & Transport Review 40 March 200528

    40 Years of High-speed Railways

    Copyright 2005 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

    Vaires to Baudrecourt and connectionsto conventional lines and the rest of theTGV network, the TGV Est will form acommercial network including 26French and 11 European cities.For the commercial international high-speed services, RHEALYS has beenestablished as a joint venture by CFL(Luxembourg), SNCF (France), DB AG(Germany) and SBB (Switzerland).The project will increase traffic volumesby 66% from 6.9 million passengers to11.5 million.

    Future TGV Developments

    The Inter-ministerial Committee onTerritorial Planning and Development(CIADT) was held on 18 December 2003.One of the subjects was an ambitiouslong-term (2025) transport plan allowingbetter participation of the French regionsin Europe and the world economy. Theplan has about 50 big projects includingeight TGVs (Fig. 7): RhineRhone(DijonMulhouse); Sud Europe Atlantique(ToursBordeauxSpain); BretagnePays-de-la-Loire; Est (second phase withconnection to ICE network); CataloniaItaly (PerpignanFigueras, bypass aroundNmes and Montpellier, TGV to Nice);LyonTurin; BordeauxToulouse; andInterconnection south of Paris.By 2010, the French high-speednetwork will total 2117 km. In thelonger term, the network will totalabout 3500 km. The TGV lines willa l s o e x t e n d i n t o n e i g h b o u r i n gcoun t r i e s ; t he EU ha s r ecen t l y

    Figure 7 Long-term Planned TGV Network

    Dsseldorf

    Cologne

    AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam

    Rotterdam

    AntewerpenBrussels

    DijonDijonDijon

    Lyon

    OostendeOostendeOostendeLondon

    Paris

    Rennes

    Geneva

    Namur

    BordeauxBordeauxBordeaux

    MarseilleMarseilleMarseilleToulouse

    Nantes

    Liege

    Charleville

    Reims Metz

    Bar le duc

    Upinal

    NancyNancyNancy St di

    Remremont

    ChChlon lon sur sasur saneneChlon sur sane

    to FrankfurtLuxembourg

    Saarbrcken

    MulhouseBasel

    Zrich

    BernLausanne

    Brig

    Milan

    Turin

    AnnecyChambChambryryChambry

    MontmellanMontmellanMontmelian

    VentmicliaVentmicliaVentmicliaCannesCannesCannes

    ToulonToulonToulon

    NiceAntibes

    Avignon

    MoganeGrenobleValenceStetienne

    Laroche migennes

    SensMelun

    St Pierre des corps

    PoitiersFuturoscope

    LavalAnglrs

    La RochelleLa RochelleLa Rochelle

    Les Sables d'olonneLes Sables d'olonneLes Sables d'olonne

    La Roche sur yonLa Roche sur yonLa Roche sur yon

    La BauleLa BauleLa BauleLe CrosicVannesVannesVannes

    Lorient

    QuimperSt brieuc

    BrestSt Malo

    St nazaireSt nazaireSt Nazaire

    CherbourgCherbourgCherbourg

    Caen

    Le mans

    Tours

    Le HavreLe HavreLe HavreRouen

    LensArras

    Lille-fLille-fLille-f

    DoualValenclnnes

    BoulogneBoulogneBoulogne

    Ashford CalaisCalaisCalais DunkerqueDunkerqueDunkerque

    Nort

    Angoulme

    AgenMontauban

    Nimes

    Bziers

    Barcelona

    ArcachonArcachonArcachon

    PauTarbes

    Lourdes Carcassonne NarbonneNarbonneNarbonne

    Le PerthusLe PerthusLe Perthus

    DaxBayonneBayonneBayonneHendayeHendayeHendaye

    IrunIrunIrun

    Munich

    Strasbourg

    Colmar

    High-speed line

    Conventional line

    Plaine de l'audePlaine de l'audePlaine de l'aude

    PerpignanPerpignanPerpignan

    MontpellierAix en provence TGV

    Valence TGV

    Lyon Lyon st exupery st exupery TGVTGV

    Lyon st exupery TGV

    Macon TGV

    Le Creusot TGV

    Belfort TGV

    Besanon TGV

    Vendme

    La valle chessy

    TGV haute picardie

    Aroport cdg TGV

    MarneChampagne Champagne arocnnesarocnnesChampagne arocnnes

    LorraineMeuse

    Lille-e

    Avignon TGV

    Jean-Pierre Arduin

    Mr Arduin is Director Expert Consultant at SYSTRA, the engineering

    arm of SNCF and RATP. He joined SNCF in 1975 after graduating

    from the Ecole Nationale des Mines and the Ecole Nationale de la

    Statistique et de lAdministration Economique. After working mainly

    in corporate planning and business administration, he was assigned

    to the New Infrastructures and High-Speed Department where he

    participated in studies of high-speed corridors worldwide.

    Jincheng Ni

    Mr Ni is an economist at SYSTRA. After graduating from the University

    of Toulouse in 1987 and the Ecole Nationale de la Statitique et de

    lAdministration Economique in 1990, he joined SNCF and was

    assigned to the New Infrastructures and High-Speed Department.

    He is studying urban railways and high-speed corridors worldwide.

    adopted technical specifications forinteroperability (TSIs) for the high-speednetwork that are mandatory for new EUhigh-speed lines. Their implementationwill allow the EU to establish a high-speed network, totalling more than12,000 km, integrating the Europeancountries and revitalizing railwaypassenger transport.