LGV Nord

The LGV Nord, Ligne à grande vitesse short for North, is a high-speed railway route in France. It is 333 km long and connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Euro Tunnel. The track opened in 1993 and is the third opened in France high-speed line.

The maximum operating speed on for 320 km / h trassierten route is 300 km / h They shortened the travel time between various regions of France, Belgium and Great Britain. In the north, the route via the Euro Tunnel on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to London and to the HSL 1 to Brussels connects, to the south by the LGV Interconnexion Est, the and around the Greater Paris for LGV Est européenne, the LGV Sud -Est leads to the LGV Atlantique. The path is due to its location on the flat terrain nowhere steeper than 2.5%. On the LGV Nord TGV ride, Euro Star and Thalys trains.

Route

The route passes through five departments; these are Seine- Saint- Denis, Oise, Somme, Pas -de- Calais and Nord. It begins 16.6 km north of the Gare du Nord, in Arnouville at the Paris- Creil. In Vémars there is a branching triangle that leads to the LGV Est Interconnexion; thus for example it is possible to perform direct trains from Brussels or London to Paris -Charles de Gaulle airport and Disneyland Resort Paris.

After crossing the forest of Ermenonville the track meets at Chevrières on the A1 motorway and then follow these more than 130 km. In the small village Ablaincourt - Pressoir, located halfway between the cities of Amiens and Saint- Quentin, is the TGV Haute -Picardie train station. West of Croisilles threaded from a nine- kilometer-long connection route, which leads to Arras and so the development of many northern French towns permits. In Fretin a branching triangle connects the LGV Nord and the Belgian high-speed line HSL 1, which leads to the east in the vicinity of Brussels.

North of the triangle of Fretin is the Lille metropolitan area. The route runs parallel to Altstrecken here for a length of about seven kilometers and serves the Lille-Europe station on the edge of downtown. It leads south to Armentieres and north past Hazebrouck. In Cassel a connection route allows the operation of Dunkirk. The LGV Nord ends southwest of the town of Calais in Fréthun, before the portal of the Euro tunnel.

The route was heavily criticized especially by politicians from Picardy, as the LGV develops any of the major cities. In particular, Amiens campaigned for a further west running route. The government did, however, the route via Amiens for disadvantageous because otherwise the development of Lille would have been possible only with a large detour and so the total traveling time Paris - London would be increased considerably. The LGV Picardie project provides long term, before the development of Amiens, after completion of the line, the traveling time Paris-London would be under two hours.

On a length of 135 km (41%) the distance between Paris and Lille was bundled with highways.

Stations

Are located on the LGV Nord three railway stations:

  • TGV Haute -Picardie in Ablaincourt - Pressoir between Amiens and Saint- Quentin
  • Lille-Europe, on the edge of the city center of Lille
  • Calais - Fréthun, southwest of Calais before the portal of the Euro Tunnel

Events

  • September 29, 1989: granting of planning permission
  • September 2, 1991: laying the first rails
  • September 9, 1992: Upper line is energized
  • September 20, 1992: First test drive train TGV Atlantique 301
  • During a test drive a TGV Atlantique wrong February 23, 1993 for a period of more than 30 minutes at 350 km / h over the distance. The clothing lay back a 175 km long distance in 36 minutes.
  • May 23, 1993: Opening of the first section between Gonesse and Croisilles and the branch between Croisilles and Arras
  • 21 September 1993: At a speed of 300 km / h derailed a circulating from Valenciennes to Paris unit near Ablaincourt - Pressoir. The last four cars and the engine head jumping off the rails, in which a traveler is injured. Through Rain is a native of the period of the First World War cavity had opened under the tracks, which had remained undetected in the construction of the track.
  • September 26, 1993: Opening of the second section between Croisilles and Fréthun (Portal of the Euro Tunnel )
  • May 6, 1994: Opening of the Euro Tunnel
  • December 14, 1997: Opening of the French section of the HSL 1 between Fretin and the Belgian border at Wannehain
  • June 5, 2000: A Euro Star derailed at 250 km / h at the junction of Croisilles. The transmission of a bogie failed after portions of it were dropped on the track bed. Four out of 24 bogies jump off the tracks. Seven passengers suffer injuries.
  • May 26 2001: The Opération sardine -called long-distance world record via the route

In constructing the route of the Gare du Nord railway station was extensively rebuilt after the opening of the line ( and the Euro Tunnel ) the number of travelers should rise from 21 to 36 million per year.

Routing and technical equipment

Opposite the LGV Atlantique distance between track centers was increased from 4.20 to 4.50 m to allow speed increases up to 350 km / hr. The potential on the diverging road driving speed of the switch has been increased from 160 to 170 km / h.

Laon Gare TGV Haute-Picardie Lens (Pas-de-Calais) Ghent Gare de Lille Europe Aa River (France) High Speed 1 LGV Sud-Est Ablaincourt-Pressoir Croisilles (Pas-de-Calais) Cassel (Nord) Structurae International Union of Railways SNCF TGV Thalys PBKA HSL 2 HSL 3
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