Marseille–Ventimiglia railway
The railway Marseille- Ventimiglia is a two-track main line in France, Monaco and Italy, and is the western continuation of the railway line Genova- Ventimiglia.
History
1852, the construction of a railway line between Marseille and Toulon was decided. Reason was the desired development of the military harbor of Toulon, therefore, the French state under a law adopted in 1842 26 million francs for the construction are available. Overall, the opening part of the route took 14 years to complete. The first section of the route was on October 20, 1858 between Marseille and Aubagne by the PLM into operation.
On 3 May the following year it was extended to Toulon before September 1, 1862, the railroad reached the station of Les Arcs and continue on a later branch line Draguignan. 1863, the section to Cagnes -sur -Mer was put into operation in 1864 and the one to Nice. Four years later, the Principality of Monaco has been reached and 1869 Menton. On March 18, 1872, the cross-border closing the gap between Menton and Ventimiglia was completed after the Italian coastal town had less than two months earlier, on January 25, 1872, by the distance from Genoa to receive rail connection. 1875 was followed by the branch line from Les Paul to Les Salins- Ines d'Hyères. The building housed a difficulty in the form of the Massif des Maures, at the 1862 7000-8000 mostly Piedmontese, Belgian or German workers were employed.
The railway line evolved due to the increasing tourism soon became the major compound on the trains from different countries holidaymakers to the Côte d' Azur brought. Since about 1880 until the Second World War, these were mainly international luxury trains such as the Train Bleu or the Riviera Express. 1925 led the CIWL with the Milano -Nice Pullman Express their first Pullman Express on the route. After the war came to commissioning the TGV connections Trans - Europ - Express trains such as the TEA Mistral from Paris, and the TEE Ligure Milan added.
The electrification dragged on as already the building over several years. 1965, the section between Marseille and Les Arcs, together with the branch line to Hyères was put under tension, in 1967 that between Les Arcs and Saint Raphael, in 1968 the section to Cannes was electrified before the January 28, 1969 electrified the entire route between Marseille and Ventimiglia had. Between Marseille -St Charles and Marseille -La Pomme and between the French-Italian border and the terminus station of Ventimiglia distance on the rest of the way with 25 kilovolt, 50 Hertz alternating current was electrified at 1500 volts DC. Therefore, all TGV which ply the route, equipped with two pantographs for both systems.
Since April 4, 1987 TGV operate on the route after 1984 already Toulon and Hyères were connected. Initially they joined Nice on Marseille Paris, Lille, Lyon or Geneva, today they operate on the entire route to Ventimiglia. In 2008, the TER Provence- Alpes- Côte d' Azur led to a regular timetable on their lines.
2011 reached the track in the headlines when France had to stop and clear a filled mainly with Tunisian refugees and human rights activists train the TER PACA Ventimiglia on the border on 17 April 2011, and as a measure the connection between Menton and Ventimiglia for the entire day left lock. This was due to the numerous Tunisian migrants who received visas when entering Italy and wanted to move to France with these. Then the Ventimiglia train station of about 200 Tunisians and human rights activists has been busy. Despite considerable criticism France received EU support for the measure.
Operation
SNCF operates several long-distance and regional services on the route:
Long-distance traffic
TGV
- Paris Gare de Lyon / Metz / Bruxelles -Midi / Lille Europe / Geneva -Cornavin / Dijon -Ville -Marseille- Nice- Ville ( - Ventimiglia ) with a stop in Marseille -Saint -Charles, Toulon, Les Arcs - Draguignan, Saint Raphaël - valescure, Cannes, Antibes, Nice-Ville, Monaco - Monte Carlo, Menton and Ventimiglia
( Partial trains only to Toulon or Hyères)
Corail
- Corail Téoz Bordeaux Saint -Jean- Niceville with stops in Marseille -Saint Charles, Toulon, Les Arcs - Draguignan, Saint Raphaël - Valescure, Cannes, Antibes and Nice-Ville
- Corail Lunéa Paris Austerlitz - Niceville stopping in Toulon, Les Arcs - Draguignan, Frejus -Saint Raphael, Saint Raphaël - Valescure, Cannes, Antibes and Nice-Ville
- Corail Lunéa. Bordeaux / Strasbourg - Niceville with stops in Marseille -Saint Charles, Toulon, Les Arcs - Draguignan, Saint Raphaël - Valescure, Cannes, Antibes and Nice-Ville
Regional Transport
The TER PACA is present with various lines, the busiest are as accelerated line (similar to a German regional train ) circulating, leading between Marseille and Ventimiglia, as well as that between Grasse and Ventimiglia, which between Cannes La Bocca station - where they had ended earlier - and Ventimiglia uses the route. By the way, there is a regional line between Marseille and Nice, so that between Cannes and Nice exists a compacted clock.
Future
The future is marked by striking expansion plans of partially congested route: In Greater Nice route from Antibes to Cagnes -sur -Mer to be accessible via a three-pronged approach. The commissioning of the third track between Antibes and Cagnes -sur -Mer to take place in late 2013. The same is provided between Marseille and Aubagne.