Lyon–Geneva railway
Encyclopedia
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.
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 4km 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.
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
will be electrified to 25kV 50Hz, 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.
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
Paris
Gare de Lyon
Paris Lyon is one of the six large railway termini in Paris, France. It is the northern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway. It is named after the city of Lyon, a stop for many long-distance trains departing here, most en route to the south of France. In general the station's SNCF services run...
-Geneva
Gare de Cornavin
Genève-Cornavin is Geneva's main railway station, located in the centre of the city...
, Geneva
Gare de Cornavin
Genève-Cornavin is Geneva's main railway station, located in the centre of the city...
- South of France, TER Rhône-Alpes, Rhône Express Regional
Rhône Express Regional
The Geneva RER or Rhône Express Regional) is a commuter railway service which runs between Geneva Cornavin Station, Switzerland and La Plaine and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in France. It forms part of the Lyon-Geneva Railway...
and goods trains.
The line is numbered 890 000 of the RFF national network.
Route
From Lyon-PerracheGare de Lyon-Perrache
Gare de Lyon-Perrache station is a large railway station in the quarter Perrache, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, France. It is situated on the Paris–Marseille railway, and it is the western terminus of the Lyon–Geneva railway and the southeastern terminus of the Moret–Lyon railway. It was built...
the line runs round Lyon city centre to Lyon-Part-Dieu
Gare de Lyon-Part-Dieu
Gare de la Part-Dieu is the primary railway station in Lyon, France. It is situated on the Lyon–Geneva railway.This zone is served by the metro line and -History:...
. 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
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
to Bellegarde-sur-Valerine where it meets the Ligne du Haut-Bugey
Ligne du Haut-Bugey
The Haut-Bugey line is a railway line in France. It is 65 kilometres in length and connects Bourg-en-Bresse with Bellegarde, travelling through the Jura Mountains...
. After Bellegarde trains plunge into the 4km 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
CEVA rail
CEVA is the name given to a project to connect the main Swiss railway line into Geneva from the rest of Switzerland to the at present isolated link out of Geneva Eaux Vives station to Annemasse Haute-Savoie,...
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.
Creation
- 23 June 1856: Opening of the section from Lyon Saint-Clair to Ambérieu-en-Bugey.
- 7 May 1857: Ambérieu to Seyssel
- 18 March 1858: Seyssel to Geneva (Cornavin)Gare de CornavinGenève-Cornavin is Geneva's main railway station, located in the centre of the city...
- 1 June 1859: Lyon Saint-Clair to Lyon Brotteaux
- 24 November 1859: link to Lyon Guillotière and Lyon Perrache
Evolution
Electrification to 1500V DC- 14 December 1952: Lyon Perrache and Lyon St Clair.
- 22 September 1953: Lyon-Saint-Clair to Culoz.
- 16 Decembre 1953: Culoz to Bellegarde.
- 20 September 1956: completion of the line with the section Bellegarde to GenevaGare de CornavinGenève-Cornavin is Geneva's main railway station, located in the centre of the city...
, The inaugural train was hauled by CC 7121 (at the time the world rail speed record holder).
- 1980, opening of the cord line at Culoz allowing Genève - Grenoble - Valence traffic to pass through directly at 60 km/h avoiding the reversing movement in Culoz station.
- 27 September 1981 first commercial Paris - Geneva TGVTGVThe TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
service via Bellegarde, Culoz, Ambérieu et Bourg-en-Bresse. - 12 June 1983 last day of operation of Lyon-Brotteaux station.
- 13 June 1983 first day of operation of Lyon-Part-Dieu station.
- May 1987: Opening of the branch to Geneva airport. Most of the traffic West from Cornavin became long distance Swiss trains terminating at the airport in place of the relatively sparse traffic to the SNCF network. Accordingly, the main lines were reelectrified to the Swiss standard of 15kV 16.7Hz while a third line dedicated to SNCF traffic used a new single track line running parallel through to Cornavin.
- 12 December 2010: reopening of the Ligne du Haut-BugeyLigne du Haut-BugeyThe Haut-Bugey line is a railway line in France. It is 65 kilometres in length and connects Bourg-en-Bresse with Bellegarde, travelling through the Jura Mountains...
for TGV traffic to Paris, replacing the use of the Bellegarde to Ambérieu section by Paris bound TGVs
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 RégionalRhône Express Regional
The Geneva RER or Rhône Express Regional) is a commuter railway service which runs between Geneva Cornavin Station, Switzerland and La Plaine and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in France. It forms part of the Lyon-Geneva Railway...
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
- Swiss EMUs running on 1500V DC and using the french train control system
- French style signals built by the Swiss signal maker Integra
Future plans
Traffic on the Geneva- Bellegarde section is increasing steadily and the single track section is expected to become a serious bottleneck. The southern branch of the Geneva RER, the CEVACEVA rail
CEVA is the name given to a project to connect the main Swiss railway line into Geneva from the rest of Switzerland to the at present isolated link out of Geneva Eaux Vives station to Annemasse Haute-Savoie,...
will be electrified to 25kV 50Hz, 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.