LGV Sud-Est

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LGV Sud-Est
The LGV Sud-Est in Cruzilles-lès-Mépillat
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	SNCF (1981–1997) RFF (1997–2014) SNCF Réseau (2015–present)
Locale	Île-de-France Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Termini	Combs-la-Ville, Seine-et-Marne Sathonay-Camp, Metropolis of Lyon
Service
System	SNCF
Operator(s)	SNCF
History
Opened	22 September 1981: Saint-Florentin–Sathonay-Camp 25 September 1983: Combs-la-Ville–Saint-Florentin
Technical
Line length	409 km (254 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz[1]
Operating speed	300 km/h (190 mph)
Signalling	TVM-300
Maximum incline	3.6%
Route map Legend Line from Paris-Gare de Lyon 29.4 0.0 Line to Dijon 17.1 LGV from Marne-la-Vallée 42.7 River Seine (134 m) 44.0 Montereau – Flamboin-Gouaix 117.2 Line Paris – Dijon Line from Sens 162.1 Line to Montbard and Dijon 273.8 Le Creusot TGV 274.6 Nevers – Chagny 334.0 Mâcon Loché TGV Line from Dijon 336.0 Line to Lyon 337.5 River Saône (340 m) from Mâcon 337.7 to Bourg-en-Bresse 380.5 LGV Rhône-Alpes to Valence 389.3 from Bourg-en-Bresse to Lyon Part-Dieu

The LGV Sud-Est (French: Ligne à Grande Vitesse Sud-Est; English: South East high-speed line) is a French high-speed rail line which connects the Paris and Lyon areas. It was France's first high-speed rail line, it has also been the widely used line in France as well as being the busiest high-speed line in Europe.^[2]

Construction of LGV Sud-Est commended in 1976, although development of the associated technologies was underway for over a decade prior. Several key decisions, such as the use of overhead electrification instead of gas turbines, was influenced by geopolitical events as much as by innovations. On 22 September 1981, the inauguration of the first section between Saint-Florentin and Sathonay-Camp was attended by President François Mitterrand on 22 September 1981. It marked the beginning of the re-invigoration of French passenger rail service; ten million passengers travelled on LGV Sud-Est within its first ten months of operation while domestic flights between Paris and Lyon declined substantially due to the effectiveness of TGV services.

The high rate of return generated by LGV Sud-Est quickly motivated the construction of other LGVs. Several of these have extended the reach of the high-speed trains that use LGV Sud-Est, such as the LGV Rhône-Alpes and LGV Méditerranée to the south and the LGV Interconnexion Est to the north; these connecting lines shortened journey times between Paris and the southeast of France (Marseille, Montpellier and Nice), Switzerland and Italy, as well as between the southeast and the north and west of France, the United Kingdom and Belgium. The LGV Rhône-Alpes, Sud-Est and Méditerranée, taken as a whole, were also nicknamed the City To Coast (C2C) Highway ("Ville à la Mer").^{[citation needed]}