Bourg-en-Bresse – Bellegarde railway line

Bourg-en-Bresse – Bellegarde
Viaduc de Cize-Bolozon
Map of the route Bourg-en-Bresse – Bellegarde
Route number (SNCF) :	884,000
Course book route (SNCF) :	525
Route length:	64.727 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	35  ‰
Minimum radius :	300 m
Top speed:	120 km / h
Dual track :	No
Legend Mouchard – Bourg-en-Bresse v. Mouchard Chalon-sur-Saône – Bourg-en-Bresse railway from Chalon-sur-Saône Mâcon – Ambérieu railway line from Mâcon 0.000 Bourg-en-Bresse Railway line Lyon-Saint-Clair-Bourg-en-Bresse to Lyon Railway line Mâcon – Ambérieu to Ambérieu 7,040 A 40 9,860 Ceyzériat 12,944 Tunnel de Sénissiat (186 m) 12.803 Senissiat-Revonnas 15.075 Viaduc de Ramasse (135 m) 17.823 ( Suran ; 23 m) 18,900 Villereversure 22,351 Simandre-sur-Suran 23.918 Tunnel de Racouse (1686 m) 24.810 Viaduc de Cize-Bolozon ( Ain ; 269 m) 25.060 Cize - Bolozon 29,445 Tunnel de Bolozon 1 (201 m) 29.696 Tunnel de Bolozon 2 (817 m) 31,235 Tunnel de Mornay (2589 m) 33,466 Nurieux-Volognat 35.617 Brion - Montréal-La Cluse 36,800 A 404 Andelot-en-Montagne – La Cluse railway to Andelot-en-Montagne 36.750 La Cluse 38.645 Malatière tunnel (279 m) 40,427 Nantua 43.199 Les Neyrolles 46,970 Tunnel de Sylans (617 m) Siding Glacières de Sylans 49.069 Charix - Lalleyriat 53.748 Saint-Germain-de-Joux 54.965 Viaduc du Tacon (115 m) 57.845 Tunnel de Trébillet (87 m) 58.105 Tunnel de Crotte (137 m; abandoned) 59.214 Châtillon-en-Michaille 59.715 Tunnel de Châtillon (257 m) 63.975 Tunnel de Musinens (573 m) 64.530 Bellegarde ( wedge station ; since 2010) Railway Lyon – Genève to Geneva-Cornavain 64.727 Bellegarde (until 2010) Railway line Lyon – Genève to Lyon-Perrache

The railway line Bourg-en-Bresse Bellegarde (French Ligne du Haut-Bugey or Ligne des Carpates ) is a French railway line that connects Bourg-en-Bresse via Nantua with Bellegarde-sur-Valserine . This largely single-track route through the Jura Mountains is 65 kilometers long. It has curve radii of at least 300 m and gradients of up to 35 per thousand. Since it reopened in 2010, the TGV trains have been using this route between Paris and Geneva .

History and construction

Profile of the Bourg-en-Bresse – Bellegarde railway line

The history of the railway began in 1866. The Compagnie des Dombes et des Chemins de Fer du Sud Est decided to establish a connection between Bourg en Bresse and Bellegarde via Nantua. On March 10, 1876, the first section was opened with a length of 22 kilometers between Bourg-en-Bresse and Simandre sur Siran. On July 6th of the same year the route was extended by three kilometers to Bolozon. On March 29, 1877, the extension to La Cluse was opened. On April 1, 1882, the entire route was passable. Two years later, the route was transferred to the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée .

During the Second World War, the line suffered some damage.

After the La Cluse – Bellegarde section was no longer used in 1990, the La Cluse station became the terminus, where the trains from Bourg-en-Bresse, which branched off at La Cluse towards Oyonnax - Saint-Claude , had to change direction. In order to simplify operations, a new connecting curve to the line in the direction of Oyonnax – Saint-Claude was built in 1996, so that the trains from Bourg-en-Bresse to Oyonnax did not have to change direction. In this context, the new Brion-Montréal-La Cluse stop was established west of the new connecting curve; the old La Cluse station was no longer served.

From September 2005, a replacement bus service was set up for the duration of the construction work on the Bourg en Bresse – Brion-Montréal-La Cluse (- Oyonnax) section of the route, which was still used.

Revitalization of the route

The revitalization of the line as part of the connection of Switzerland to the European high-speed rail network was chosen as a significantly more cost-effective alternative to building a new high-speed line. The route, reopened in 2010 and now electrified, is 47 kilometers shorter than the existing route via Ambérieu and Culoz that was previously used . Individual TGVs that run without stopping have a travel time from Paris to Geneva of just under three hours. For trains that stop on the way, the travel time is usually 3:16 hours. On many sections, only speeds of up to 90 km / h can be driven, the maximum speed is 120 km / h. This resulted in a shortened travel time of around 15 minutes compared to the previous 3.5 hours. This was less than expected, which led to criticism in Geneva of the use of the Swiss contribution to construction investments.

The construction works

Construction work began in 2007. According to the original planning, the line should have gone into operation in September 2009. The construction costs 341 million euros. The French state pays 127.45 million euros and Switzerland 110 million euros. Other funds are raised by the Réseau ferré de France with 79.15 million euros, the rest is paid by the region and the neighboring communities. The whole route is being rebuilt. The previous engineering structures will be renewed. Among other things, the tunnels had to be expanded because of the clearance profile required for electrical operation (overhead line). For this purpose, the tunnel floor was lowered. Of the 58 level crossings, 18 were closed and all 40 were rebuilt. Overall, the line has appeared as new since the end of 2010. The line was electrified with alternating current of 25 kV 50 Hz. The existing Bourg-en-Bresse – Ambérieu – Culoz – Bellegarde line, on the other hand, is electrified with 1.5 kV direct current.

Train stations

Bellegarde TGV station

The line has two completely new stations: Bellegarde TGV and Nurieux. The train stations used by local trains (TER) are Ceyzériat, Sénissiat-Revonnas, Villereversure, Simandre-sur-Suran and Brion-Montréal La Cluse. The stations on the La Cluse – Bellegarde section have not been rebuilt because there are no plans to run regional trains there.

business

Between Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde, up to nine TGVs per day on the Paris-Geneva route operate the route in 2011 . One of these stops at Nurieux station. The Bourg-en-Bresse – Brion-Montréal-la-Cluse section is also operated by a daily TER train in each direction on the Bourg-en-Bresse – Oyonnax – Saint Claude route. Scheduled freight traffic is currently not taking place on the route.

Web links

Commons : Ligne de Bourg-en-Bresse à Bellegarde  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website about the Ligne du Haut-Bugey with plans and a comprehensive photo gallery of the construction works (French).
• Route on OpenStreetMap

literature

• Ligne du Haut-Bugey histoire d´une ligne… et plus . Réseau Ferré de France, 2010. (French)
• Liaison Paris-Genève Modernization de la ligne du Haut-Bugey . Réseau Ferré de France. (PDF, French; 611 kB)
• Olivier Carmelle and Véronique Pont-Carmelle: La ligne du Haut-Bugey “l'intérêt local” in Paris-Genève . La Regordane, 2010. Presentation of the book

Individual evidence

1. ↑ For example, in the direction of Paris – Geneva, according to the 2016 annual timetable, two direct TGV connections have a journey time of 3:05 hours or less. See for example timetable information from Deutsche Bahn .
2. ↑ Richard Diethelm: Here the TGV becomes a loiter. December 7, 2010, accessed December 20, 2015 . 
3. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Project description on the website of the Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT) , accessed on November 6, 2010
4. ↑ See for example timetable information from Deutsche Bahn.
5. ↑ See local transport timetable for the Bourg-en-Bresse – Oyonnax – Saint Claude line for the period July 3 - December 10, 2011 (PDF document; 89 kB), accessed on July 18, 2011.