LGV Nord
| Company type | High-speed rail line |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | France |
Area served | France, Belgium, United Kingdom (via Channel Tunnel) |
| Products | High-speed train services (TGV, Eurostar, Thalys) |
The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord (LGV Nord) is a French high-speed railway inaugurated in 1993, linking Paris with the Belgium–France border and the Channel Tunnel through Lille.
Operating at speeds up to , it drastically shortened travel durations between Paris and Lille. Further extensions northward to Belgium and the Channel Tunnel, as well as southward via the LGV Interconnexion Est, have reduced travel times to Great Britain, the Benelux region, and facilitated inter-regional connections between Nord (Pas de Calais) and southern areas of France. The line runs parallel to the A1 for , which has earned it the informal title A1 Highway. Constructed predominantly across level terrain, it maintains a maximum gradient of 2.5‰.
Among French high-speed lines, LGV Nord accommodates the most diverse range of rolling stock. This includes Alstom-manufactured TGV POS, TGV Réseau, TGV Atlantique, and TGV Duplex trains; British Rail Class 373 (Eurostar e300); Thalys PBA, PBKA; as well as Siemens Velaro-based British Rail Class 374 (Eurostar e320), in addition to regional train units. The Lille rail traffic centre oversees all operational management.
Route
Beginning at Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, situated 16.6 km from Gare du Nord on the Paris–Lille railway, the LGV Nord connects with the LGV Interconnexion Est at Vémars through a triangular junction. This link provides access to Charles de Gaulle Airport and Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy, allowing direct services from London and Amsterdam to Disneyland Paris and southern destinations such as Lyon, Avignon, and Marseille.
After crossing east of the Ermenonville forest via the viaduc de Verberie, the line follows alongside the A1 near Chevrières, continuing toward Lille’s suburbs. At Ablaincourt-Pressoir, the newly established station Gare TGV Haute-Picardie caters exclusively to inter-regional TGV services. A junction near Croisilles links to a branch toward Arras. The LGV traverses the A1 autoroute again at Seclin.
At the triangular junction in Fretin, LGV Nord connects with Lille-Brussels’s HSL 1, crossing into Belgium at Wannehain and merging with conventional tracks at Lembeek. Beyond Fretin, a connection at Lezennes serves TGV trains terminating at Lille-Flandres, while through TGVs and some Eurostar services stop at Lille-Europe station. Eurostars running non-stop travel beneath Lille city at speeds of 200 km/h.
The route passes south of Armentières and north of Hazebrouck. A connecting link at Cassel provides access to Dunkirk. Moving westward, it crosses the A26 autoroute near Zouafques before terminating at Gare de Calais-Fréthun, adjacent to the Eurotunnel terminal. This facilitates TGV operations to Calais and Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel toward London. Some TGV trains continue onward to Calais-Ville or reverse direction to serve Boulogne-sur-Mer, Étaples-Le Touquet, and Rang-du-Fliers-Verton stations.
The route has attracted criticism, notably from Picardy residents, since it bypasses Amiens without stopping. The government prioritized a direct Paris-Lille connection to achieve optimal journey durations for London-bound travelers. To address this, the proposed LGV Picardie aims to include Amiens in its service area while reducing Paris–London travel time to under two hours.
Stations
The LGV Nord line connects the following stations:
- Gare du Nord (Paris)
- Gare TGV Haute-Picardie1
- Gare d'Arras²
- Gare de Lille-Europe
- Gare de Calais-Fréthun
1 The Haute-Picardie station, often referred to as "Gare des Betteraves" ("Beetroot Station"), is situated in a remote location accessible solely by road; Amiens advocated for a station closer to the city at Gare d'Amiens.
² Arras station is reached via a branch of the LGV Nord that diverges near Croisilles.
History
- 1984: Initiation of the Lyon-Lille TGV link, utilizing conventional tracks between Île-de-France and Lille.
- 29 September 1989: Official declaration of public utility made.
- 2 September 1991: Commencement of track installation.
- 9 September 1992: Activation of the overhead catenary system.
- 20 October 1992: Initial test runs conducted with TGV Atlantique trainset number 301.
- 23 May 1993: Passenger service launched between Paris and Arras.
- 21 December 1993: A derailment occurred involving TGV 7150 near the future Haute Picardie station at approximately 300 km/h due to a WWII-era track defect; only minor injuries were reported.
- 14 November 1994: The first Eurostar service departed from London Waterloo International to Paris Gare du Nord, linking via HS1, the Channel Tunnel, and LGV Nord; comprehensive service to Paris and Brussels commenced in May 1995.
The line was constructed to improve European rail connectivity, driven by the imminent opening of the Channel Tunnel. It officially opened in 1993 between Arnouville and Fréthun, one year prior to the tunnel’s inauguration; the Belgian segment became operational in 1997.
Services
Travel durations and daily train frequencies:
From Paris
- Paris–Lille: 1 hour / 24 daily trains
- Paris–Douai: 1 hour 9 minutes / 10 trains
- Paris–Valenciennes: 1 hour 42 minutes / 10 trains
- Paris–Arras: 49 minutes / 9 trains
- Paris–Dunkirk: 1 hour 38 minutes / 9 trains
- Paris–Lens: 1 hour 5 minutes / 7 trains
- Paris–Béthune: 1 hour 15 minutes / 7 trains
- Paris–Calais: 1 hour 23 minutes / 5 trains
- Paris–Cambrai: 1 hour 40 minutes / single daily train
- Paris–St-Omer: 1 hour 56 minutes / single daily train
- Paris–Boulogne-sur-Mer: 1 hour 57 minutes / single daily train
Inter-regional
- Lyon–Lille: approximately 2 hours 48 minutes / 11 trains per day
- Lyon–Arras: about 2 hours 46 minutes / 3 trains daily
- Lyon–Brussels: roughly 3 hours 40 minutes / twice daily service
- Nantes–Lille: nearly 3 hours 53 minutes / four trains daily
- Rennes–Lille: close to 3 hours 49 minutes / four daily trains
- Bordeaux–Lille: around five hours / five daily services
International
- Paris–London: approximately two hours fifteen minutes
- Paris–Brussels: about one hour twenty minutes
- London–Marne-la-Vallée (Disneyland Paris): two hours forty-three minutes
- London–Marseille: six hours twenty-eight minutes
- Paris–Liège: two hours ten minutes
- Paris–Cologne: three hours fourteen minutes
- Paris–Amsterdam: three hours eighteen minutes
- Lille–London: one hour twenty minutes
- Amsterdam–London: three hours fifty-five minutes
Future services
At present, Deutsche Bahn is the sole operator to have formally requested access to the line; since regulations were eased in 2009 permitting its trains through the Channel Tunnel, no other proposals have been officially submitted.
Deutsche Bahn
In 2009, Eurotunnel indicated a willingness to relax fire safety standards to enable operators such as Deutsche Bahn to run passenger services via the Channel Tunnel employing different rolling stock on LGV Nord. Following European rail deregulation, high-speed lines became open-access starting from January 1, 2010. The Inter-Governmental Commission on the Channel Tunnel (IGC) considered modifying safety rules related to train splitting, with plans discussed for London-Cologne high-speed connections ahead of the London Olympics in 2012. By March 2010, Eurotunnel, High Speed 1, DB, and other stakeholders formed a working group to evaluate changes in safety regulations that would allow DB's trains to operate on a Frankfurt-London route.
Deutsche Bahn intended to conduct a test run on October 19, 2010 with an ICE 3 train passing through the Channel Tunnel as preparation for future services. Existing Velaro ICE3 units lacked sufficient fire protection for tunnel passenger operations; however, Siemens Velaro D models on order featured enhanced fireproofing measures. DB planned to introduce a Frankfurt-London route by around 2020, including stops at Cologne and Brussels, aiming for journey times between four and five hours. Nonetheless, ICE 4 trains designated for this corridor had yet to obtain authorization for high-speed travel through northern France and Belgium, causing delays in service launch. Additionally, DB proposed operating paired ICE 4 units traveling together up to Brussels Midi before separating—one unit proceeding to Amsterdam via Rotterdam and the other continuing toward Frankfurt via Cologne.
Veolia
In September 2008, Air France-KLM showed interest in entering the railway service sector after changes in regulations but decided to pull out by October 2009. Following this, Veolia pursued alternative partnerships and revealed a joint venture with Trenitalia aimed at offering rail connections between Paris and cities such as Strasbourg, London, and Brussels.
Renfe
The Spanish rail company RENFE has set its sights on expanding high-speed rail operations that connect Spain to London via its AVE network. This expansion involves routes passing through Paris, Lyon, Barcelona, and Madrid, utilizing the Barcelona–Figueras and Perpignan–Figueras lines to link up with the French rail system.