RER Sud-Leman (Ligne Tonkin) Reopening

[Alpine Rider]

After decades of discussion the French Government has announced plans for a Public Enquiry to consider reopening the Ligne Tonkin route along the south side of Lac Leman(Lake Geneva). The Swiss Government/SBB support the idea as it would potentially relieve pressure on paths on the route around the north side of the lake especially the scetion between Lausanne and Geneva.

More here the correct link

 

[Shinkansenfan]

After decades of discussion the French Government has announced plans for a Public Enquiry to consider reopening the Ligne Tonkin route along the south side of Lac Leman(Lake Geneva). The Swiss Government/SBB support the idea as it would potentially relieve pressure on paths on the route around the north side of the lake especially the scetion between Lausanne and Geneva.

More here France TV3 report

Like to learn more. The link is to an unrelated LUL document.

 

[Alpine Rider]

Like to learn more. The link is to an unrelated LUL document.

sorry not sure why the link got scrambled up. I have edited the link to the correct TV3 page.

 

[MarkyT]

Following the old route on Google Earth, it mostly seems intact, even with rails in many places, albeit heavily overgrown and clearly requiring significant reconstruction. One option might be to extend the SBB St Gingolph service to terminate at Evian, electrified at Swiss voltage, or maybe use a FLIRT Akku to avoid new wires on the French section and compatibility issues at Evian. Plenty of platform capacity at Evian including the possibility of a new dedicated east end bay of around 150m, if desired.

 

[Alpine Rider]

At this stage there is no certainty on who or how the route will operate or where the voltage switchover will happen - but OHLE seems a given even if it means some track lowering may be needed for clearance. The biggest issue is the impact of level crossings in the vicinity Evian les Bains station, where road traffic has risen immensely since the line was last very intermittenly operational, and delays were negligible. Certainly there has been some talk of possibly tunnelling/rerouting in this area to eliminate most of the crossings especially as a much more intensive service is envisaged along the route. I somehow doubt this will happen (at least to start with) as the extra cost would probably make the whole scheme unviable even with SNCF & the EU bankrolling a lot of the project.

As virtually all the route is in France I expect SNCF will insist the OHLE will use their power supply voltage. This should not be problematic as the jointly procured SBB/SNCF Leman Express units are already dual voltage so the single track platform at St Gingolph is probably the best place for the voltage switchover whilst passengers are boarding. This would allow some of the non loco hauled Geneva-Brig EMU services to be diverted onto the new route at St Maurice. The locos are usually push pull units which are not dual voltage.

Fortunately the south side of lake Geneva route is much shorter and should therefore be quicker so should be welcomed by people heading to Geneva. However whilst some through services will still be needed for those commuters wanting destinations on the north side of the lake it should free up at least one path per hour to/from Geneva in peak hours.

A while back there was a Youtube publicity video made which amusingly featured a SBB voltage local unit. As for SNCF they already have occasional TGV Lyria services terminating at Evian which could be extended on the new route as far as St Maurice - for easy connections within Switzerland. In winter the numbers travelling to ski resorts in Valais might even justify extending the Paris-Lyria TGV to Martigny.

 

[MarkyT]

At this stage there is no certainty on who or how the route will operate or where the voltage switchover will happen - but OHLE seems a given even if it means some track lowering may be needed for clearance. The biggest issue is the impact of level crossings in the vicinity Evian les Bains station, where road traffic has risen immensely since the line was last very intermittenly operational, and delays were negligible. Certainly there has been some talk of possibly tunnelling/rerouting in this area to eliminate most of the crossings especially as a much more intensive service is envisaged along the route. I somehow doubt this will happen (at least to start with) as the extra cost would probably make the whole scheme unviable even with SNCF & the EU bankrolling a lot of the project.

As virtually all the route is in France I expect SNCF will insist the OHLE will use their power supply voltage. This should not be problematic as the jointly procured SBB/SNCF Leman Express units are already dual voltage so the single track platform at St Gingolph is probably the best place for the voltage switchover whilst passengers are boarding. This would allow some of the non loco hauled Geneva-Brig EMU services to be diverted onto the new route at St Maurice. The locos are usually push pull units which are not dual voltage.

Fortunately the south side of lake Geneva route is much shorter and should therefore be quicker so should be welcomed by people heading to Geneva. However whilst some through services will still be needed for those commuters wanting destinations on the north side of the lake it should free up at least one path per hour to/from Geneva in peak hours.

A while back there was a Youtube publicity video made which amusingly featured a SBB voltage local unit. As for SNCF they already have occasional TGV Lyria services terminating at Evian which could be extended on the new route as far as St Maurice - for easy connections within Switzerland. In winter the numbers travelling to ski resorts in Valais might even justify extending the Paris-Lyria TGV to Martigny.

A 30 or 60 minute interval service probably wouldn't close the crossings too much around Evian if they're short warning automatic types. I agree building a tunnel to avoid them seems implausibly expensive unless the route was intended to become a very busy major main line, in which case doubling at least part of it might also be desirable, including sections west of Evian; currently passing places are ony at stations. The provision of the new train service should be reducing the traffic flow on some of the roads crossing the railway anyway. When was the line last 'intermittently operational'?

 

[MarcVD]

At this stage there is no certainty on who or how the route will operate or where the voltage switchover will happen - but OHLE seems a given even if it means some track lowering may be needed for clearance. The biggest issue is the impact of level crossings in the vicinity Evian les Bains station, where road traffic has risen immensely since the line was last very intermittenly operational, and delays were negligible. Certainly there has been some talk of possibly tunnelling/rerouting in this area to eliminate most of the crossings especially as a much more intensive service is envisaged along the route. I somehow doubt this will happen (at least to start with) as the extra cost would probably make the whole scheme unviable even with SNCF & the EU bankrolling a lot of the project.

As far as I know, there is currently a law in France that prohibits any rail line (re-)opening for passenger service if it has any level crossing on it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Apr 2023 ==

As virtually all the route is in France I expect SNCF will insist the OHLE will use their power supply voltage. This should not be problematic as the jointly procured SBB/SNCF Leman Express units are already dual voltage so the single track platform at St Gingolph is probably the best place for the voltage switchover whilst passengers are boarding. This would allow some of the non loco hauled Geneva-Brig EMU services to be diverted onto the new route at St Maurice. The locos are usually push pull units which are not dual voltage.

Unless you agree with the unnecessary additional burden and costs of a switchable catenary section, you want a switchover section to be placed where trains travel at line speed, far away of any possible cause of slowdown, and not at a place where they stop. That allows trains to travel under the neutral section with their own momentum. That's how it's done almost systematically nowadays. Switchable catenary sections are a thing of the past.

 

[MarkyT]

As far as I know, there is currently a law in France that prohibits any rail line (re-)opening for passenger service if it has any level crossing on it.

A law originally sponsored by Michelin presumably! I fully agree with minimising the number of crossings as far as possible, and using all available means to improve safety at those that remain, but for a minor line, a total ban could be a complete deal breaker, especially in a tightly constrained lakeside location in the mountains like this. Might be easier to move the border!