LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire

Background Between 1996 and 2001, French infrastructure manager Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) conducted preliminary studies into the potential construction of a extension of the LGV Atlantique's western branch, later known as LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire. During 2005, the process of acquiring land along the intended route was started. On 30 October 2007, it was announced that the proposed line had been granted a Declaration of Public Utility, a sign of formal recognition by the French government and a necessary step for any major publicly funded construction programme in France; at the time, this envisioned line had a reported cost of around €2.5 billion and would achieve an estimated reduction in journey time of 37 minutes between Paris and Brittany over the conventional route being used at that time. The proposal also become a recognised element of France's rail expansion strategy under the Grenelle Environnement initiative. The proposed LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire was personally highlighted by President Nicolas Sarkozy as one of four grand projects which were to be a recipient of funding under a national economic stimulus package that was issued by his government. The final bids from the shortlisted firms were received in advance of 13 October 2009. On 28 July 2011, the 25-year public–private partnership (PPP) contract, valued at €3·3 billion, which covered the construction and maintenance of LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire was signed in Paris by RFF President Hubert du Mesniland and Pierre Berger, the Managing Director of Eiffage. The arrangement covered not only the high speed line that would be newly built between Le Mans and Rennes, but also an additional of connecting track between the new line and the existing railway network. At this time, preliminary studies of the route were scheduled to take place between May 2011 and July 2012, while actual construction activity was intended to commence during the autumn of 2012. The line was projected to be completed sometime in late 2016. Construction On 27 July 2012, construction of LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire was officially commenced following a ceremony attended by RFF President Hubert du Mesnil and Eiffage Managing Director Pierre Berger, as well as other officials. Reportedly, it was expected that the construction phase of the project would generate around 10,000 jobs. == Route ==

in 2014. The line begins as an extension of the LGV Atlantique western branch near Connerré (Sarthe). After a connection north of Le Mans, the LGV dips towards the southwest with a connection to the regular Le Mans-Angers line near Sablé-sur-Sarthe. The connection, at a length of , from Sablé-sur-Sarthe slightly speeds up the journey to Nantes. The line then rises to pass north of Laval and re-join the regular line at Cesson-Sévigné, near Rennes. The total length of the route is roughly of which being high speed. The high-speed line featured a total of seven covered trenches and ten viaducts. The track consisted of rails on top of concrete sleepers, which were laid on a bed of ballast; reportedly, a 900,000 tonnes of ballast, of rails and 680,000 sleepers were used during the line's construction. Overhead lines are provided for electric traction, the majority of trains running the line are intended to be powered in this manner. Electricity is supplied by the French electrical transmission company Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE) and is redistributed along the line via a series of substations, this electrical infrastructure reportedly allows for a maximum speed of to be achieved. The signalling system of the new high-speed line conforms with the requirements of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2, while the of conventional connections are equipped with ERTMS Level 1-standard signalling instead. As such, LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire does not feature any conventional visual line-side signals, this information being communicated to drivers using in-cab screens instead. A combination of Radio Block Centres (RBC) and Eurobalises are installed at intervals throughout the length of the line to allow for the continuous delivery of this information to trains, which is wirelessly transmitted using the Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R) communication standard. Under normal conditions, all of the line's signalling is centrally controlled via a switching centre located at Rennes. Journey times • Paris–Rennes: 1 hours 26 minutes (a reduction of 37 minutes) • Paris–Nantes: 1 hours 52 minutes (a reduction of 8 minutes) • Paris–Saint-Malo: 2 hours 14 minutes (a reduction of 42 minutes) • Paris–Lorient: 2 hours 56 minutes (a reduction of 42 minutes) • Paris–Brest: 3 hours 25 minutes (a reduction of 46 minutes) == External links ==