Высокоскоростная железная дорога LGV Est: Париж – Страсбург

French high speed railway

The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne (East European High Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Est, is a French high speed rail line that connects Vaires sur Marne (near Paris) and Vendenheim (near Strasbourg). The line halved the travel time between Paris and Strasbourg and provides fast services between Paris and the principal cities of Eastern France as well as Luxembourg and Germany. The LGV Est is a segment of the Main Line for Europe project to connect Paris with Budapest with high speed rail service. The line was built in two phases. Construction on the from Vaires sur Marne to Baudrecourt (near Metz and Nancy) began in 2004; the first phase entered into service in June 2007. Construction on the second phase from Baudrecourt to Vendenheim began in June 2010; the second phase opened to commercial service on 3 July 2016. Opening of the second phase was delayed after a train derailed near Eckwersheim on 14 November 2015 during commissioning trials, resulting in 11 deaths. A specially modified train performed a series of high speed tests on the first phase of the LGV Est prior to its opening. In April 2007, it reached a top speed of 574.8 km/h (159.6 m/s, 357.2 mph), becoming the fastest conventional rail vehicle and fastest passenger train on a national rail system (as opposed to dedicated test track).

The line passes through the French regions of Île de France and Grand Est. The first section of this new route, linking Vaires sur Marne near Paris to Baudrecourt in the Moselle, opened on 10 June 2007. Constructed for speeds up to , for commercial service it is initially operating at a maximum speed of , and was the fastest service in the world at average speed of between Lorraine and Champagne until the Wuhan–Guangzhou High Speed Railway opened in 2009. It is the first line in France to travel at this maximum speed in commercial service, the first in France to use ERTMS, the new European rail signalling system and the first line also served by German ICE trains. The second phase includes the Saverne Tunnel. The signalling centre for the line is at Pagny sur Moselle.

In 1969, Metz politician Raymond Mondon requested a study of a fast train from Paris to Strasbourg along the route of the planned A4 autoroute. In 1970–71, the International Union of Railways (UIC, based on its French acronym) developed a master plan of fast intercity connections in continental Europe. Its connection between Paris and Strasbourg was very similar to the route of the LGV Est. The UIC master plan called for this line to be constructed shortly after Paris Lyon and Paris Brussels lines. In 1974, the director of SNCF confirmed that the company wanted to follow the UIC master plan. Germany, which was developing the Transrapid maglev system, was long reserved about the TGV system being developed by France. A 1975 study concluded that the passenger traffic to only Alsace and Lorraine would not be enough for the financial feasibility of the line. In 1982, recognizing German reluctance to extend the line into Germany, SNCF president André Chadeau announced that the company would not build the LGV Est without government subsidies. The initial 1980s plan extended along a corridor from Paris to Munich. However, the expected passenger traffic along this corridor was quite low, unlike Paris Lyon and Paris Brussels/London corridors, and a direct route crossed a region of eastern France far from any major urban area. In 1986, MP Marc Reymann submitted to the government a route that shared a common trunk line between the LGV Nord and LGV Est from Paris, through Charles de Gaulle Airport, to Soissons before forking into lines to Brussels (LGV Nord) and Strasbourg (LGV Est). In 1988, the German government agreed to a rail line from Paris to Frankfurt via Saarbrücken.

On 1 April 1992, the project was added to the master plan of high speed lines, in which it was classified as a priority project. The line is redundant to three existing rail lines: Paris to Strasbourg, Paris to Mulhouse, and the combined and Saint Hilaire au Temple to Hagondange railway lines. favored domestic north–south axes, and due to the competition between SNCF and Deutsche Bahn. The decision to build the line is politically motivated by fostering European integration, serving the European institutions in Strasbourg, and geographical balance of French high speed rail lines, following the construction of high speed lines from Paris to the southeast (LGV Sud Est, LGV Rhône Alpes, & LGV Méditerranée), the southwest (LGV Atlantique), and north (LGV Nord). A public inquiry was conducted in 1994. In Nancy, which this route favored, this route was championed locally by Gérard Lignac, director of the L'Est Républicain newspaper. Although a budget was not completed and the planned phasing of the project was opposed by Lorraine and Alsace, the déclaration d'utilité publique was signed on 14 May 1996, two days before the deadline after which a new public inquiry would have been required. A protocol for the construction and financing of the LGV Est was signed between the national government, RFF, SNCF, and local governments.

Earthworks for the first phase between Vaires sur Marne and Baudrecourt started in spring 2002. The contractors took three years to complete the earthworks and some 327 pieces of structural work as well as re establishing communications for people and wildlife. Tracklaying and building the new stations started in 2004. As the first infrastructure project of its kind to be declared a public utility by the Ministry of the Environment, the LGV Est is also the first railway to be financed largely by the French regions and the European Union (EU). The main contractor for the project is RFF (Réseau ferré de France), the state owned company responsible for managing the French rail infrastructure. Civil engineering works were distributed in eight contracts which were awarded after bidding by five companies: SNCF, ISL, Tractebel, Scétauroute and Setec. This is the first time there has been competition for the construction of a TGV line since reform of the rail system in 1997 and the involvement of RFF. SNCF Engineering, in partnership with EEG Simecsol succeeded in obtaining four of the contracts (including one for the second phase), this being 50% of the civil engineering project. Moreover, it directed the entire superstructure works project (track, signals and electrification) under the responsibility of Réseau Ferré de France. On 9 June 2007, the TGV Est made its inaugural voyage, leaving from the Gare de l'Est at 7:36am. Notable passengers included: François Fillon, the French Prime Minister, Alain Juppé, the Minister of Sustainable Development, and the Argentinian Ambassador to France. The Prime Minister hailed this event as "a beautiful symbol of the capacity of our country to innovate when it is united, a symbol of European France, of the knowledge of French businesses, and a symbol that gives confidence in the future." He hailed this achievement as "a union by train between France and its German, Luxembourgish, and Swiss partners, between the European institutions and the [French] capital."

On 2 September 2009, infrastructure manager RFF announced the tendering for the second phase. Financing was finalized on 1 September 2009, with a mix of sources ranging from the French and Luxembourgish governments, regional governments, the EU, and RFF. The full line was planned to open on 3 April 2016, The opening of the second phase had been scheduled for 3 April 2016, but was delayed after a train derailed near Eckwersheim during commissioning trials, resulting in 11 deaths and damage to a bridge on the line. The line opened on 3 July 2016. A landslide in March 2020 caused a derailment, with 22 minor injuries, and one serious.

A series of high speed trials, named Operation V150, were conducted on the LGV Est prior to its June 2007 opening using a specially modified train. The trials were conducted jointly by SNCF, TGV builder Alstom, and LGV Est owner Réseau Ferré de France between 15 January 2007 and 15 April 2007. Following a series of increasingly high speed runs, the official speed record attempt took place on 3 April 2007. The top speed of 574.8 km/h (159.6 m/s, 357.2 mph) was reached at kilometre point 191 near the village of Le Chemin, between the Meuse and Champagne Ardenne TGV stations, where the most favourable profile exists. The speed record of 1990 was unofficially broken multiple times during the test campaign that preceded and followed the certified record attempt, the first time on 13 February 2007 with a speed of , and the last time on 15 April 2007 with a speed of .