Genève – Annemasse railway line

Genève – Annemasse
Rail routes in and around Geneva (CEVA shown in red)
Route number (SNCF) :	894,000
Timetable field :	151
Route length:	16.1 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	(CH) 15 kV, 16.7 Hz ~ (F) 25 kV, 50 Hz  ~
Top speed:	100 km / h
Dual track :	Yes
Legend Route from Lausanne 60.26 Genève-Cornavin 61.59 Junction St-Jean to Genève-Aéroport Tunnel de Saint Jean (222 m) Charmilles tunnel (1081 m) 62.39 Ab or Jonction (Genève) from Bellegarde Viaduc de la Jonction ( Rhône ; 218 m) 62.61 Tunnel de la Bâtie (1078 m) 63.69 63.80 Ab and Lancy-Batie 64.22 Lancy- Pont-Rouge 64.40 Genève-La Praille Beginning of the new CEVA line 65.03 Genève-La-Praille junction 65.25 Genève-Stade (only for football matches) 66.90 Genève-La-Praille (terminus) 65.57 65.65 Lancy Bachet Pinchat Tunnel (2100 m) 68.29 68.34 Swiss stone pine (87 m) 68.38 Tunnel de Champel (1630 m) 68.99 Genève -Champel 70.45 Genève-Eaux-Vives Opencast tunnel 72.69 Seymaz 73.11 Chêne-Bourg 74.39 France / Switzerland border Le Foron 75.56 End of open pit tunnel 75.77 Infrastructure operator boundary SBB / SNCF Réseau Route from Eaux-Vives (until 2013) 76.11 System separation point 15 kV, 16.7 Hz / 25 kV, 50 Hz Stretch of Longeray , distance from Aix-les-Bains 76.39 172.72 Annemasse Route to Évian-les-Bains

The railway line Geneva-Annemasse , as CEVA called (Cornavin-Eaux-Vives-Annemasse), since December 15, 2019 connects the border French town Annemasse with the Swiss Geneva and its main train Cornavin .

The railway project in the Western Switzerland region represents an extension of the existing line between Eaux-Vives and Annemasse via the Eaux-Vives terminus to Champel , Carouge and Lancy to the Geneva-Cornavin SBB station . The line is the main line of the S-Bahn network Léman Express .

Route

The line leaves Cornavin station in a westerly direction together with the lines to Bellegarde and Geneva Airport , with trains to and from Annemasse using the two left-hand platforms to the west. The junction from the route to the airport is in the Tunnel de St. Jean, approximately at the level of Rue de Miléant . After the tunnel, the connecting curve from the direction of Bellegarde joins from the right. Subsequently, the line crosses at the Viaduct la Jonction the Rhône at the level of Arvemündung at its directly the tunnel de la Bâtie adjoined. The Lancy- Pont-Rouge stop is located high above the route du Grand-Lancy and has a 320 m long island platform.

Behind the stop, the new section that has been built since 2011 begins, which bypasses the La Praille freight yard to the west. At its southern end, the double-track line separates from the existing freight tracks; this is where the new Lancy-Bachet stop is located as an important connection point to trams and buses. At the end of the platform hall , which is already below street level, the Tunnel de Pinchat begins , the route turns in a left curve towards the northeast and runs south of the old town from Carouge to the Arve. It crosses the Arve river on a 2500-ton steel truss bridge . Immediately behind it begins the Champel tunnel . In this section, the route is completely enclosed for noise protection reasons. Approximately in the middle of the Champel tunnel is the Genève-Champel stop, which offers direct access to Geneva University Hospital . A few hundred meters to the east, you will reach Eaux-Vives station , the starting point of the former line to Annemasse . The new station structure was built using the open construction method, the platform level is 17 meters below the surface and has an island platform 320 meters in length. Thanks to specially made glass shelves, daylight should be able to penetrate through the mezzanine floor to platform level.

The further tunnel section was built under the old railway line to the south-east using the cut-and-cover method and a rectangular profile. In the area where the Seymaz River is to be crossed, the tunnel is interrupted, and the tracks cross it on a bridge. The Chêne-Bourg stop is the last stop on Swiss soil. Further south the small border river Foron is crossed. The tunnel crosses the state border and ends on Rue de Négociants in front of Annemasse station. Over the tunnel between Eaux Vives and Annemasse, a voie verte was created as a cycle and footpath connection.

history

First studies

The idea of ​​a direct rail link between Geneva and Savoy came about as early as 1870. On behalf of the Geneva State Council, the engineer Friedrich Gustav Gränicher developed various routes, whereby the Cornavin - Jonction - Carouge section is identical in all variants:

1. Eaux-Vives – Carouge link through a 925 m tunnel under La Cluse ;
2. Connection between Eaux-Vives and Carouge by means of a tunnel under the Plateau de Champel ;
3. Connection Chêne-Bourg – Carouge, known as the Grand Serpentin , via the Combe de la Seymaz . The section Chêne-Bourg-Eaux-Vives would be retained as a branch line;
4. Connection from Carouge to the foot of the Salève with a link south of Veyrier to the Bellegarde - Annemasse line .

• 

  Variant 1 tunnel.

• 

  Variant 2 Plateau de Champel.

• 

  Variant 3 Grand Serpentine.

• 

  Variant 4 feet of the Salève.

The cantonal parliament decided on 4 November 1876 for the variant 3 Grand serpentine . In the years that followed, this decision was called into question from various sides and further variants were brought into play. A commission of experts headed by Gustave Bridel suggests that the Annemasse – Eaux-Vives section should be created first. On June 14, 1881, Switzerland and France signed a state treaty on the Geneva – Annemasse railway.

Annemasse - Eaux-Vives section (opened in 1888)

→ Main article : Chemin de fer de l'État de Genève

Genève-Eaux-Vives train station with the SNCF Z2 two-system railcar Z 9517 , 1990

The agreement for the construction and operation of the Eaux-Vives-Moillesulaz section (state border) was signed on September 30, 1883 by the Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM). The large council of the canton approves this quick and inexpensive project on May 4, 1884. A decision about the continuation to Cornavin should be made after the first three years of operation of this section. Proponents of a connection from Carouge to Veyrier obtained a referendum , which was rejected by the people of Geneva on July 6, 1884.

The planning continued from 1884 and in 1885 the necessary real estate was acquired. In the same year, the track construction work and the construction of the station buildings began. This work was completed in 1887, and work on the French section began in the same year. The Annemasse – Genève-Eaux-Vives line went into operation on May 27, 1888. The infrastructure was owned by the Chemin de fer de l'État de Genève (CFEG), and it was operated by PLM.

Electrical operation on the line began on September 28, 1986. Due to the isolation from the Swiss railway network and operation by the SNCF, the line was electrified with the 25 kV standard in France with a frequency of 50 Hz.

For the expansion to double lanes as part of the CEVA project, traffic on the Chêne-Bourg-Eaux-Vives section was suspended from December 2011. The remainder of the section to Annemasse followed in April 2013. The station building in Chêne-Bourg had to be moved 33 m in July 2013 for the construction of the new underground route.

Cornavin - La Praille section (opened in 1949)

Planned route according to the 1912 treaty over the Pont Butin

Around the turn of the century , further variants for a connection from Cornavin to Eaux-Vives were developed, but these were rejected. Construction work on the Simplon Tunnel began in 1896, and two projects were in competition for the access route: the canton of Geneva supported a route from Lons-le-Saunier to Geneva with a tunnel under the Faucille , the canton of Vaud and the Swiss Confederation supported the construction of the Mont d'Or tunnels and the route via Vallorbe .

In 1909, France and Switzerland signed a contract stipulating that the Confederation would co-finance the Cornavin – Eaux-Vives line if the Faucille tunnel were built. In this case, the entire section up to Annemasse station would have to be operated by the Swiss Federal Railways . However, in 1910 the decision was made to build the Tunnel du Mont d'Or, which meant the end for the Faucille Tunnel and indirectly also for the connecting railway to Eaux-Vives.

In order to preserve the chances of realizing the connecting line, the canton of Geneva managed to sign a contract with Switzerland and the Swiss Federal Railways in 1912. This provides for the realization of a rail connection between Cornavin and Annemasse. One third of the construction costs are to be borne by the contracting parties.

On this basis, a project was worked out which provided for a crossing of the Rhône no longer at the Jonction , but a little further downstream at the Pont Butin . The municipality of Petit-Lancy would be driven under by means of a tunnel before the line reached the planned La Praille freight station . Eaux-Vives station would be connected via further tunnels. This route variant over the Pont Butin was rejected by the SBB in 1923 in favor of a shorter and cheaper one: crossing the Rhône at the Jonction and a tunnel under the Bois de la Bâtie . The work was to be carried out in two stages from 1929, first the section to the La Praille freight station and then the connecting piece to Eaux-Vives.

The global economic crisis in the 1930s delayed the start of construction on the first section to the beginning of 1941. For cost reasons, only one track was laid on the line opened in 1949, the second followed in 1959. The connecting tunnel towards Bellegarde went into operation in 1953. The La Praille freight yard was built in five stages from 1950 to 1968. Seven tracks were electrified with 1,500 kV direct current for traffic to and from Bellegarde .

From December 2002 the regional trains from the direction of Coppet were extended every half hour from Cornavin to the provisional Lancy-Pont-Rouge stop .

Section La Praille - Genève-Eaux-Vives (opening 2019)

Variant of Barreau Sud

Lancy-Bachet station under construction (2017)

Genève-Champel station nearing completion (2019)

Various ideas were pursued in the 1980s to improve public transport in Geneva, including a VAL route . Until 1997 a light rail route from Pays de Gex via CERN , Cornavin to Annemasse was planned. This meter-gauge traffic system would have used some of the existing tram routes and, from Eaux-Vives, the route of the railway line. The State Treaty of 1881 and the Treaty of 1912 would have been called into question and France would have insisted on an alternative route. For this reason the Barreau Sud (connection south) was proposed, which would have connected La Praille with Archamps on the Bellegarde – Annemasse line. Finally, in 1998, the Grand Council finally backed the La Praille – Eaux-Vives connection.

In 2002 the Grand Council approved the canton’s budget share (CHF 400 million) and the Confederation pledged CHF 550 million. The studies on the conversion of the Annemasse station and the French section of the route began in 2003. In September 2005, the Annemasse community association advocated an underground route on the French side as an extension of the Swiss open-cast tunnel.

On May 30, 2005, the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) issued the planning permission for the renovation of Cornavin station , which provided for the extension of platform 1 and thus allows simultaneous entry and exit from the direction of La Praille.

The planning approval process for the La Praille - national border section was initiated in March 2006, during which a total of 1,700 objections were received. A considerable part of this was submitted by members of the Association contre le tracé Carouge-Champel du CEVA . They called for a modified route in the area of ​​the Arve crossing and the Champel district . On May 5, 2008, the FOT issued the building permit and rejected all objections. On November 29, 2009, the Geneva electorate approved the additional loan of CHF 113 million with a majority of over 61%.

On June 16, 2011, the Federal Administrative Court overturned the last objections regarding vibrations and allowed construction to begin on September 27, 2011 with the exception of the shell work on the Champel Tunnel . The last objections to the Tunnel de Champel were lifted on March 15, 2012.

The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on November 15, 2011 in Lancy-Pont-Rouge in the presence of Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard , SBB boss Andreas Meyer , the President of the Geneva Government, Mark Muller, and the President of the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council, Jean-Jack Queyranne .

The first work began in 2012 with the renovation of the Eaux-Vives station. The excavation of the Tunnel de Pinchat began in September 2013, and the breakthrough took place on October 8, 2015. Work on the Tunnel de Champel began in March 2014, the breakthrough only took place on June 8, 2017 after difficulties arose in the tunneling. The Viaduc de la Jonction over the Rhône was extensively renewed from September 2014. Among other things, the track center distance was increased and the pedestrian walkway to the side was extended. In April 2016, the 2,500 tonne superstructure of the bridge over the Arve was pushed in within three days. In the same year in September, the symbolic breakthrough took place at the border under the Foron between the Swiss and French opencast tunnels.

The railway technology equipment on the Swiss section began in autumn 2016 with the construction of the slab track type LVT. The symbolic weld between the sections on both sides of the border took place on September 21, 2018 in the presence of the representatives of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and the canton of Geneva . As part of this, December 15, 2019 was announced as the opening date for the Léman Express . The line was originally scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2017. Due to various objections regarding the vibration protection, there were delays in the track construction. The installation of the railway technology was completed in summer 2019 with the completion of the overhead contact line and the safety systems.

Régiolis at Chêne-Bourg station (2020)

On the French side, construction work began in June 2015 with the construction of the open pit tunnel up to the national border. The tunnel shell construction was completed in February, followed by the installation of the slab track type LVT, the overhead contact line and the safety systems.

The new Lancy-Pont-Rouge train station officially went into operation on December 10, 2017. This replaced the temporary arrangement from 2002.

The official names of the stops were set by the Federal Council on November 7, 2018 : Lancy-Pont-Rouge , Lancy-Bachet , Genève-Champel , Genève-Eaux-Vives and Chêne-Bourg .

On September 13, 2019, a large security drill called Confine Tre with over 1200 extras and 800 security guards took place in the tunnel section between Chêne-Bourg and Annemasse. The coordination between the Swiss and French blue light organizations should be checked.

The official inauguration of the line took place on December 12, 2019 at Genève-Eaux-Vives station by representatives from both countries: Simonetta Sommaruga , Nuria Gorrite , Serge Dal Busco, Laurent Wauquiez, Andreas Meyer and Frank Lacroix.

The total construction costs on the Swiss side of the project amounted to CHF 1,567 million based on the 2008 price level. The federal government pays 56% of this, with the canton of Geneva contributing the rest.

A total of 234 million euros was invested on the French side. Of this, 14.5 million euros were contributed by Switzerland, the rest was provided by the French partners.

Technical equipment

Slab track type LVT at Genève-Eaux-Vives station (2020)

Transition from ballast to slab track in Lancy-Bachet station (2020)

The entire route up to the entrance signals of the Annemasse station at km 75.77 was constructed according to Swiss standards and is also maintained by the SBB. Unlike in Switzerland and France, the route is driven on the right in regular operation. This is due to the track assignment at the Genève-Cornavin exit, where a track on the route to the airport is shared. The maximum speed is 100 km / h. At the Lancy-Pont-Rouge and Genève-Eaux-Vives train stations, there are two track connections each in order to ensure sufficient operational flexibility in the event of a breakdown or during construction work.

An LVT slab track was installed along the entire stretch of the tunnel . To ensure adequate protection against vibrations, the LVT-HA (high attenuation) system was used on sections of the route. Where this was not sufficient, a mass-spring system had to be provided.

The platforms of the Lancy-Pont-Rouge and Genève-Eaux-Vives stops are each 320 m long, so that they can also be served by RE Dosto double compositions . In order to travel with the RE to Annemasse, a track in Annemasse station ( Voie G ) is equipped with the Swiss electricity and train control system and is only accessible from the direction of Geneva.

The entire route is equipped with the train control system ETCS Level 1 Limited Supervision ( Baseline 3 ) and GSM-R . For the change from the Swiss to the French train control system, a dynamic transition using Eurobalises was implemented for the first time at km 75.77. During the journey, the vehicle computer changes from the Swiss train control ( EuroZUB , EuroSignum ) to the KVB , RPS (Répétition du signal en cabine) and Crocodile that are common in France .

The electrical system separation point was arranged at km 76.11 in a single- lane section just before the Annemasse station on a gradient of 4 ‰. At this point, the contact wire voltage changes from the 15 kV at 16.7 Hz customary in Switzerland to the 25 kV at 50 Hz customary in France. The section to be driven through without current is in the direction of Annemasse shortly after a gradient of 27 ‰, which is a multiple traction could result in the train breaking down in the area of ​​the protective route . In order to prevent this, a special function had to be integrated into the vehicle software which, in the case of multiple traction, first lowers the pantograph of the leading vehicle while the second unit continues to be supplied with power and thus pushes both parts of the train. As soon as the first part of the train has passed the protective line, the pantograph is put back on and the first part of the train pulls the second, which is now located under the protective line.

business

→ Main article : Léman Express

FLIRT LEX at Cornavin station (2019)

The route has been the main route of the Léman Express since December 15, 2019. All stops are served by FLIRT and Régiolis trains.

The following four lines run on the route and run every quarter of an hour during the day:

• L1: Coppet - Annemasse - Evian
• L2: Coppet - Annemasse - Annecy
• L3: Coppet - Annemasse - Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
• L4: Coppet - Annemasse

They also run Annemasse - Genève - Lausanne - St-Maurice every half hour on the route, but these only serve the intermediate stops Lancy-Pont-Rouge and Genève-Eaux-Vives . Trains of the type RE Dosto are used here.

Web links

Commons : CEVA  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• CEVA.ch (official website, French)
• CEVA-France.fr (Official site French section, French)
• SBB: CEVA

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Neue Zürcher Zeitung : Léman-Express Elsewhere, public transport that crosses borders rarely rolls , December 15, 2019
2. ↑ Top meeting SBB-SNCF in Paris: cooperation across borders. In: bahnonline.ch. March 9, 2017, accessed May 6, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Léman Express on SBB.ch
4. ↑ CEVA press release: Les travaux CEVA franchissent une nouvelle étape importante: le futur pont ferroviaire enjambe l'Arve, April 15, 2016 PDF
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Bénédict Frommel, Enis Arikok: Les chemins de fer du canton de Genève, Étude historique 1840-1960 - Les grandes étapes de formation du réseau genevois , DAEL - Service des monuments et des sites, 09.2004 [1]
6. ^ "Agreement of June 14, 1881 between Switzerland and France regarding the connection of the Geneva – Annemasse railway to the Savoyard railway network near Annemasse" (SR 0.742.140.334.93)
7. ↑ A waiting period of 107 years In: InfoForum 1/2017
8. ↑ RTS La gare de Chêne-Bourg (GE) déplacée de 33 mètres en quatre heures , July 17, 2013
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Bénédict Frommel, Enis Arikok: Les chemins de fer du canton de Genève, Étude historique 1840-1960 -La ligne de ceinture Cornavin - Eaux-Vives , DAEL - Service des monuments et des sites, 09.2004 [2]
10. ^ State treaty between Switzerland and France regarding the access lines to the Simplon, 0.742.140.334.94, [3]
11. ↑ Treaty between the Swiss Confederation and the Canton of Geneva, July 10, 1912 [4]
12. ^ Feuille d'Avis Officielle Halte CFF de Lancy - Pont-Rouge , January 10, 2003
13. ^ Transport collectif 2005: rapport de synthèse , May 28, 1997
14. ↑ Le barreau sud (Alprail) , November 6, 1998
15. ^ Vote du crédit de 400 millions de francs par le Grand Conseil
16. ↑ Ceva-Info n ° 5. CEVA, accessed December 16, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Federal Office of Transport grants building permit for Geneva S-Bahn Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse (CEVA). Federal Office of Transport, May 6, 2008, accessed on December 19, 2019 . 
18. ^ République et canton de Genève Résultats de la votation du 29 novembre 2009
19. ↑ 20minutes: Feu vert partiel pour le chantier du CEVA , September 27, 2011
20. ↑ Historique. CEVA, accessed December 16, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Media release groundbreaking ceremony for CEVA: A construction of the century begins , November 15, 2011
22. ↑ CEVA trimestriel N ° 03. CEVA, accessed December 24, 2019 (French). 
23. ↑ ^{a b} CEVA: Historique
24. ^ St-Jean-Jonction. CEVA, accessed December 23, 2019 (French). 
25. ↑ Les travaux CEVA franchissent une nouvelle étape importante: le futur pont ferroviaire enjambe l'Arve. April 15, 2016, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
26. ↑ Chantiers CEVA: Suisse et France désormais reliées en souterrain. September 23, 2016, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
27. ↑ Le nouveau réseau ferroviaire transfrontalier Léman Express sur les rails pour une mise en service dans 450 jours. September 21, 2018, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
28. ↑ ^{a b} Florence Pictet: DML, CEVA, MEVA: future-oriented projects for three centers and far beyond . in: Swisstraffic (December 2011), Federal Office of Transport, Bern 2011, p. 4.
29. ↑ CEVA trimestriel N ° 15. Retrieved December 16, 2019 (French). 
30. ↑ CEVA trimestriel N ° 18. Retrieved December 16, 2019 (French). 
31. ↑ Les travaux sont lancés! CEVA-France, June 16, 2015, accessed December 24, 2019 (French). 
32. ↑ CEVACTU # 6. Retrieved December 16, 2019 (French). 
33. ^ Une nouvelle gare à Lancy - Pont-Rouge: le premier pas d'une nouvelle mobilité pour Genève. December 8, 2017, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
34. ↑ Federal Council determines CEVA name, SER 12/2018 page 616
35. ↑ L'exercice de securité “Confine Tre” a fait vibrer la region de Genève. October 9, 2019, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
36. ^ Inauguration officielle du Léman Express, le plus grand réseau ferroviaire transfrontalier d'Europe. December 12, 2019, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
37. ↑ CEVA trimestriel N ° 19. Retrieved December 16, 2019 . 
38. ↑ Les partenaires. Ceva-France.fr, accessed December 16, 2019 (French). 
39. ↑ ^{a b c} Challenge before the start of the Léman Express . In: Swiss Railway Review . tape 2019 , no. 12 , p. 622-625 .
40. ↑ ^{a b} Annexe 3.4.1 du Network Statement Conditions techniques liées à la ligne et exigences envers le matériel roulant de la ligne Genève-Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse (CEVA) (km 60,630 - km 75,770). SBB, November 12, 2019, accessed on December 23, 2019 (French). 
41. ^ Cross-border railway construction and operation on Lake Geneva . In: Swiss Railway Review . tape 2018 , no. 8-9 , pp. 438-441 .
42. ^ La dalle flottante: dispositif anti-vibratoire. CEVA, accessed December 23, 2019 (French).