The Longueau-Boulogne railway is a French railway which runs from a junction with the Paris-Lille railway at Longueau to the coastal port of Boulogne. A double track railway it is 171 kilometres (106 miles) long. Until the start of the Eurostar service from London to Paris in 1994 via LGV Nord it was the main route for the boat trains to Paris which met the ships carrying passengers from Great Britain. As of August 2011[update] the line is used by Intercités services from Paris to Boulogne, TGV services from Rang-du-Fliers via Calais-Fréthun to Lille-Europe and local TER Picardie and Nord-Pas-de-Calais services.[1]
The line was built by Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord from 1847 to 1848.[2] The section from Longueau through Amiens and to the junction with the line to Rouen is electrified at 25kV 50Hz.[3] From 2009 to 2010 the line from Boulogne to Rang-du-Fliers was also electrified to allow a TERGV service to run.[4]