Lyon–Geneva railway

Lyon - Geneva

Z27894 passing by Fort de l'Ecluse
Overview
Type TGV, TER, RER and freight
System SNCF
Locale Switzerland (Canton of Geneva),
France (Rhône-Alpes)
Termini Gare de Lyon-Perrache
Gare de Cornavin, Geneva
Operation
Opened 1858
Owner RFF
Operator(s) SNCF
Technical
Line length 167.6 km (104.1 mi)
No. of tracks Double track
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge
Electrification 1.5kV DC

The Lyon - Geneva railway is an important route in the national rail network. It connects not only Geneva but also feeds the Maurienne railway and the Geneva to Valence via Grenoble line. It carries a variety of traffic: TGV Paris-Geneva, Geneva - South of France, TER Rhône-Alpes, Rhône Express Regional and goods trains.

The line is numbered 890 000 of the RFF national network.

Contents

Route

From Lyon-Perrache the line runs round Lyon city centre to Lyon-Part-Dieu. After running through the northeast suburbs of Lyon, the line runs in more or less straight sections across the plain to Ambérieu where it joins the line to Bourg-en Bresse and Macon, (formerly the Geneva Paris route). The rest of the line winds through the foothills of the Alpes and Jura. At Culoz is the junction with the Maurienne line to Turin via Modane. From Culoz the line runs close to the Rhône to Bellegarde-sur-Valerine where it meets the Ligne du Haut-Bugey. After Bellegarde trains plunge into the 4 km Cret d'Eau tunnel, emerging at the Longeray junction, where the line to Evian branches off via the spectacular Longeray viaduct clearly visible from the line. Thereafter, the line descends close to the Rhône, crossing the Swiss frontier between Challex and la Plaine. Between la Plaine and Geneva stations are much closer together, due to commuter traffic for Geneva. Entering the Geneva conurbation through the Meyrin-Vernier industrial estate, with many goods sidings, the railway crosses the Swiss A1 motorway over a high bridge, then reduces to a single track beside the double track Cornavin-Airport line. Inside a tunnel, a triangular junction with the line to the la Praille goods yard and future CEVA connection to Annemasse and Evian, Exiting the tunnel, the line crosses the Cornavin-Airport line to terminate at platforms 7 and 8 of Cornavin station.

History

Creation

Evolution

Electrification to 1500V DC

Geneva-Bellegarde Section

All the different types of traffic mentioned in the introduction run on this section. Direct passenger services from Bellegarde to Geneva are provided by French TGV or TER trains, while stopping services are provided by the Swiss Rhône Express Régional service. Because it is electrified and signalled to a French system but operated in part by the Swiss Railways there are several unusual hybrids on the line, illustrated in the photos, including

Future plans

Traffic on the Geneva- Bellegarde section is increasing steadily [1] and the single track section is expected to become a serious bottleneck. The southern branch of the Geneva RER, the CEVA will be electrified to 25kV 50 Hz, so the 1.5kV DC electrification of the Geneva to Bellegarde section is a third voltage for regional trains. To alleviate these two problems, two engineering projects have started, the first being to modify the double and single lines between Cornavin and the junction to the airport for bidirectional operation on all three tracks with either 25 or 15kV, and the second is to reelectrify the Bellegarde to Geneva section to 25kV AC.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ Canton of Geneva (8 Nov 2010). "TRANSPORTS PUBLICS : L'OFFRE S'ACCROÎT DE PLUS DE 9% DÈS LE 12 DÉCEMBRE 2010 [9% more public transport from 12 Dec 2010]" (in French). http://etat.geneve.ch/dt/mobilite/actualite-transports_publics_offre_accroit_plus_decembre_2010-11690.html. Retrieved 2 Feb 2011. 
  2. ^ La Ligne du Haut Bugey. 63670 La Roche-Blanche, France: La Regordane. October 2010. pp. 186. ISBN 978-2-906984-90-5.