Lille–Fontinettes railway

Lille–Fontinettes railway

Map of line from Lille to Calais
Overview
System SNCF
Status Operational
Locale France Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Termini Gare de Lille Flandres
Gare des Fontinettes, Calais
Operation
Opened 1848
Owner RFF
Operator(s) SNCF
Technical
Line length 105 km (65 mi)
No. of tracks Double track
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) Standard gauge
Electrification 25kV 50Hz

The Lille–Fontinettes railway is a French railway which runs from Gare de Lille-Flandres to Gare des Fontinettes near Calais. Electrified double track it is 105 kilometres (65 mi) long.

Completed in 1848 it was the first railway to reach the coastal port of Calais. The Paris-Lille railway had reached Lille from Paris two years previously.

In 1993 it was bypassed by LGV Nord high-speed line running from Lille-Europe to Calais-Fréthun and the Channel Tunnel. The main traffic today is freight and local TER Nord-Pas-de-Calais passenger trains.