TGV Lyria
Encyclopedia
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....
lines connecting France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Lyria is also a corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
that runs the service using SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
staff in France and SBB CFF FFS staff in Switzerland (the staff change on the border).
Corporate status
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
and SBB-CFF-FFS
SBB-CFF-FFS
Swiss Federal Railways and SFR are not in official use) is the national railway company of Switzerland headquartered in Bern. Formerly a government institution, it is since 1999 a special stock corporation with all shares held by the Swiss Confederation or the Swiss cantons...
whose goal was the creation of TGV service between Gare de Lyon
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...
(Paris) and Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
/Bern. Today, the corporation is officially a "société par actions simplifiée" (limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
) by French law. SNCF owns 74% of the capital and CFF owns the remaining 26%.
History
Starting with the summer of 1961, the route between Paris and Lausanne was operated by the Trans Europ ExpressTrans Europ Express
The Trans Europ Express, or Trans-Europe Express, is a former international railway service in Europe. At its maximum extent, in 1974, the network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities.-Origin:...
Cisalpin trains, which continued on to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. On January 22, 1984, this service was replaced by a new TGV service with tri-current locomotives, though service was cut back to Lausanne. In the spirit of the previous European expresses, the trains were christened with names: Champs-Elysées, Lemano, Lutetia, and Cisalpin. On May 31, 1987, the train service was rebranded as EuroCity; by this time, service to Bern was in place as well. The GIE was created for the first time on May 23, 1993 to operate the segments between Paris and Lausanne/Bern. Service to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
was not covered at that time. During the winter of 1995–1996, a single roundtrip per day was extended from Lausanne to Brigue to stop at stations serving ski resort
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...
s in the Rhône valley. As was the case with other trains with similar service, these trains were branded as TGV des Neiges. On September 28, 1997, the service was slightly reorganized and rebranded as Ligne de Cœur, with new livery applied to the trainset. On March 4, 2002, the Lyria name was applied for the first time to the service. The name then slowly came to stand for all TGV services between France and Switzerland and was applied to Paris–Geneva trains around January 2005 (service to Geneva had existed as part of LGV Sud-Est
LGV Sud-Est
The LGV Sud-Est is a high-speed rail line, which links Paris' and Lyon's suburbs, in France. The inauguration of the first section between Saint-Florentin and Sathonay on 22 September 1981 marked the beginning of the re-invigoration of French passenger rail service.This line, subsequently...
since 1981).
After the opening of the TGV Est in June 2007, Lyria service between Paris and Zurich began using the newly-constructed line instead of the previous route, passing through Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, Colmar
Colmar
Colmar is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.It is the capital of the department. Colmar is also the seat of the highest jurisdiction in Alsace, the appellate court....
, Mulhouse
Mulhouse
Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...
, and Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. Consequently, service from Paris runs from the Gare de l'Est
Gare de l'Est
is one of the six large SNCF termini in Paris. It is in the 10th arrondissement, not far from the Gare du Nord, facing the Boulevard de Strasbourg, part of the north-south axis of Paris created by Baron Haussmann...
instead of Gare de Lyon
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...
. The service uses new trainsets, the TGV POS.
Since the 12th of December 2010, Paris–Geneva travel time improvement is achieved with the reconstruction of the Haut-Bugey line, which connects Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse . It is located north-northeast of Lyon.The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.-Geography:...
and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine
Bellegarde-sur-Valserine is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.-Geography:Bellegarde is located at the confluence of the Valserine and the Rhône....
. Until then, only the western part of the line was open (up to Oyonnax
Oyonnax
Oyonnax is a commune in the Ain department in the Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.It is the second largest commune in the department. Its residents are known as Oyonnaxiens.-Population:-Miscellaneous:...
), and the project has restored the entire length of the line. Travel time between Paris and Geneva is reduced by 30 minutes (3 hours and 5 minutes) and track capacity is also increased, allowing 9 trains each way per day instead of the usual 7.
Current service
- Geneva–Paris: up to 9 roundtrips per day; travel time 3 hours 5 minutes
- Lausanne–Dijon–Paris: 4 roundtrips per day; travel time 3 hours 45 minutes. Summer Saturdays runs through to Brig (6h)
- Bern–Dijon–Paris: 1 roundtrip per day, travel time 4 hrs 45 min
- Basel–Strasbourg–Paris (Gare de l'Est): 4 round trips per day 3h 27 (twice per day runs through to Zurich, 4h30)
At the end of 2005, Lyria transported its 3 millionth passenger.
In February 2011, service improvements were announced, with a fleet of 19 TGV POS trains offering increased frequencies.
Future
In 2011–2012, with the completion of the LGV Rhin-RhôneLGV Rhin-Rhône
The LGV Rhin-Rhône is a high-speed railway line composed of three different branches:* The Eastern branch, from Genlis, near Dijon to Lutterbach, near Mulhouse* The Western branch, crossing Dijon, joining the LGV Sud-Est near Montbard...
, travel time between Paris and Basel/Zurich will be reduced by 30 minutes. The departure station in Paris will yet again be changed, this time returning to Gare de Lyon.
Rolling stock
LGV Sud-Est
The LGV Sud-Est is a high-speed rail line, which links Paris' and Lyon's suburbs, in France. The inauguration of the first section between Saint-Florentin and Sathonay on 22 September 1981 marked the beginning of the re-invigoration of French passenger rail service.This line, subsequently...
between Aisy-sous-Thil
Aisy-sous-Thil
Aisy-sous-Thil is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne in eastern France.-Population:-See also:* Aisy cendré* Communes of the Côte-d'Or department* Parc naturel régional du Morvan-References:*...
(west of Dijon) and Valenton
Valenton
Valenton is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.It extends over 531 hectares of which 84 are green spaces. The most important public green space is the Plage Bleue Park where different events are organized every year. Among them, we have...
(near Paris). Service to Geneva is operated using "classic" TGV Sud-Est equipment; that is, bi-current sets relieved by TGV Duplex. Trains, with the exception of those running to Geneva, used to carry the Ligne de cœur logo; this has been slowly replaced in 2006 with the TGV Lyria logo and only the old red-border livery remains. The CFF logo was also added to their cars during April 2006.
Since the opening of the LGV Est in 2007, service to Basel/Zurich is run by the new TGV POS as well as renovated TGV Réseau trains.