Lérouville – Metz railway line

Lérouville – Metz
Metz Central Station
Route number (SNCF) :	89,000
Route length:	65 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	6  ‰
Minimum radius :	600 m
Top speed:	120-160 km / h
Dual track :	Yes
Legend Paris – Strasbourg railway from Paris 288.7 Lérouville 231 m Railway Paris – Strasbourg to Strasbourg 290.5 Canal de l'Est (30 m) 290.8 Railway Paris – Strasbourg to Strasbourg 291.5 Meuse (42 m) 295.5 Girauvoisin-Saint-Julien 251 m 299.1 Le Neuf-Moulin 240 m 302.2 Rupt de Mad (12m) 305.4 Rambucourt-Bouconville 233 m Meuse / Département Meurthe-et-Moselle (3 ×) Sideway tank farm 309.6 Seicheprey 240 m 315.4 Essey-et-Maizerais 236 m 316.3 Viaduc du Moulin de Corvée (Rupt de Mad) (132 m) 317.5 Viaduc d'Euzevin ( Rupt de Mad ) (122 m) 320.6 Tunnel de Thiaucourt (601 m) 321.7 Thiaucourt 218 m 322.2 Viaduc de Thiaucourt (44 m) 322.6 Viaduc de Fey (50 m) 322.7 Viaduc de Jaulny LGV Est européenne Paris – Strasbourg (480 m) 323.3 Pont de Jaulny (58 m) 324.5 Jaulny 210m 324.3 Rupt de Mad (76 m) 326.3 Rembercourt 200 m Longuyon – Pagny-sur-Moselle railway from Longuyon 332.8 Onville 196 m 336.3 Arnaville 183 m 337.9 Department of Meurthe-et-Moselle / Department of Moselle Pagny-sur-Moselle to and from Nancy 182 m 339.6 Novéant 176 m 343.0 Ancy-sur-Moselle 174 m 345.2 Ars-sur-Moselle 173 m 346.3 Viaduc d'Ars ( Moselle ) (146 m) 348.6 Flyover structure 347.4 A31 152.4 Réding – Metz-Ville railway to Strasbourg Ab and Sablon 353.7 154.3 Metz-Ville 179 m 159.8 Abw. Woippy Railway line Metz – Luxemburg to Luxemburg

Entrance hall to Metz main station

The Lérouville – Metz railway is a double-track, electrified west-east main line that branches off the Paris – Strasbourg main line, which runs further south along the Maas, in Lérouville to connect to Metz station . It crosses through the Lorraine Regional Nature Park and, on the last section, runs along the Rupt de Mad river to its confluence with the Moselle . The kilometrage will continue from Paris-Est station on the Paris – Strasbourg line.

history

This railway line is one of the earliest that was designed in this period. A concession was granted together with that of the main Paris – Strasbourg line on November 25, 1845. It also stated that the construction of this branch should lead via Metz to the Prussian border near Saarbrücken . However, the enmity between France and Germany prevented the construction of this line . It was not until 1931, almost 90 years after it was planned, that the line was fully opened. The applicant was the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Strasbourg , which later operated many other routes in this region under the name Chemin de fer de l'Est (Est). Except for the eventful history of ownership following the occupation of Germany, the Est concessionaire remained on the line until it was taken over by the SNCF in 1937.

On May 11, 1931, the Minister for Labor, Maurice Deligne (1861-1939), opened. It shortened the distance between the departmental capital Metz and Paris to 394 km, thus accelerating traffic for this remote region in eastern France. An alternative route with only 351 km via Châlons, Sainte-Ménéhould, Verdun, Conflans-Jarny and Amanvillers could not be implemented due to terrain difficulties. It would have meant steeper gradients and a curve radius of only 300 meters. The resulting slower speed would not have been able to cope with the expected traffic. Sections had already been opened beforehand, for example the Lérouville – Thiaucourt section on July 20, 1922. In the early 1930s, the time savings for express trains were half an hour.

During the long period of construction, the Metz train station was rebuilt at a new location in the first decade of the 20th century, which now served as a through station . Due to its peripheral location in the republic, Metz was also equipped with a large freight station, a large depot and repair shops.

The line was electrified in the middle of the 20th century. It is supplied with alternating current 25 kV, 50 Hz from Lérouville.

Route description

The route crosses two departmental borders. Over its 65 kilometers, the route in the valley of the Boncourt river first climbs 20 meters and then drops again 70 meters to the Moselle . In between there is a wide plateau. However, the winding valley of the Rupt de Mad required numerous bridges and a 600 meter long tunnel at Thiaucourt .

There were delays in the construction on the plateau facing the Moselle because inconsistent clays that lay over layers of limestone began to slide. So it was necessary several times to change predetermined routing. Slopes had to be flattened. The Thiaucourt – Onville section, which was initially a single track, also had to be completely renewed.

The culmination point is at 252 m. A few kilometers later, the LGV Est européenne (Paris-Strasbourg) crosses today with an almost 500 meter long viaduct (Viaduc de Jaulny ). Ten kilometers later, the Onville distribution station is reached, which distributes the trains from Longuyon in the north and the route to the Frouard – Novéant railway in the direction of Nancy . Downhill from Onville to Pagny-sur-Moselle there was also a re-routing for 6.8 km because the route from the north was to be recorded without intersections, as a very high volume of traffic was expected. Between Pagny and Novéant, this principle was followed from the start with four lanes over a distance of 4.9 km. The already existing Moselle bridge at Ars-sur-Moselle was supplemented by a second architecturally adapted bridge.

Initially, this route was primarily used to transport coal from the Saarland to Paris in addition to passenger traffic . This traffic route is still an important west-east connection today. All regional connections between Metz and Bar-le-Duc near Lérouville as well as express trains for the Saarbrücken-Paris destination run on it. Since the inauguration of the LGV Est européenne, trains from the direction of Frankfurt am Main no longer run here. It is also used to handle freight traffic. TGV trains that end in Metz or continue in the direction of Luxembourg also use this section from Pagny.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bulletin des lois de la République française . Imprimerie nationale des lois, Paris 1845, pp. 1092-1093
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Lucien Gallois: La ligne de Lérouville à Metz . In: Annales de Géographie . Orléans 1931, Volume 40, No. 227, Pages 573-576 (French)

Web links

Commons : Lérouville – Metz railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files