LGV Est

LGV Est
LGV Est
	The line in Rambluzin-et-Benoite-Vaux, Meuse
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	SNCF Réseau
Locale	Île-de-France and Grand Est,; France
Termini	Vaires-sur-Marne, Île-de-France; Vendenheim, Grand Est;
Stations	3
Service
System	SNCF
Operator(s)	SNCF
History
Opened	Phase 1: 10 June 2007; Phase 2: 3 July 2016
Technical
Line length	406 km (252 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz
Operating speed	320 km/h (200 mph)
Signalling	TVM-430, ERTMS Level 2
Route map
	Legend
	22.7
	0
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne (East European High Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Est, is a French high-speed rail line that connects Vaires-sur-Marne (near Paris) and Vendenheim (near Strasbourg). The line halved the travel time between Paris and Strasbourg and provides fast services between Paris and the principal cities of Eastern France as well as Luxembourg and Germany. The LGV Est is a segment of the Main Line for Europe project to connect Paris with Budapest with high-speed rail service.

The line was built in two phases. Construction on the 300 km (190 mi) from Vaires-sur-Marne to Baudrecourt (near Metz and Nancy) began in 2004; the first phase entered into service in June 2007. Construction on the 106 km (66 mi) second phase from Baudrecourt to Vendenheim began in June 2010; the second phase opened to commercial service on 3 July 2016. Opening of the second phase was delayed after a train derailed near Eckwersheim on 14 November 2015 during commissioning trials, resulting in 11 deaths.

A specially modified train performed a series of high-speed tests on the first phase of the LGV Est prior to its opening. In April 2007, it reached a top speed of 574.8 km/h (159.6 m/s, 357.2 mph), becoming the fastest conventional rail vehicle and fastest passenger train on a national rail system (as opposed to dedicated test track).^[2]^[3]

^ "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
^ Matsuda, Kiyotaka (20 April 2015). "World's Fastest Train Records Speed of 375 Miles Per Hour". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 July 2016. The speed record for a train running on a national railway system, rather than a test track, remains in the hands of conventional rail, with a modified version of an Alstom SA TGV model reaching 575 km/h in France in 2007.
^ "Fastest train on a national rail system". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2 July 2016.

[1] "RFF - Map of electrified railway lines" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2010.

[2] Matsuda, Kiyotaka (20 April 2015). "World's Fastest Train Records Speed of 375 Miles Per Hour". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 July 2016. The speed record for a train running on a national railway system, rather than a test track, remains in the hands of conventional rail, with a modified version of an Alstom SA TGV model reaching 575 km/h in France in 2007.

[3] "Fastest train on a national rail system". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2 July 2016.

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