LGV Picardie
| Company type | Planned high-speed railway line |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
Area served | Northern France (Paris, Amiens, Calais) |
| Products | High-speed rail services (planned) |
The LGV Picardie represents a planned high-speed railway in France designed to connect Paris with Calais through the city of Amiens in the northern part of the country.
During the development phase of LGV Nord, local inhabitants of Amiens advocated for the route to include their city. Nevertheless, SNCF chose a more straightforward path linking Paris directly to Lille. Currently, the Picardy area is served by the TGV Haute Picardie station, which has been criticized for inadequate multimodal transport links and is colloquially referred to as la gare des betteraves ("station in a beetroot field").
The proposed LGV Picardie line would likely diverge north of Gare du Nord, connecting directly to LGV Nord's Calais branch near Calais-Fréthun. To control expenses, Amiens would probably be accessed using existing rail infrastructure. This new route has the potential to shorten travel times between Paris and Calais by approximately twenty minutes, allowing journeys from London to Paris (Eurostar) to take under two hours. Additionally, it would contribute to reducing congestion on LGV Nord.
Included for the first time in the French government's SNIT investment strategy extending to 2030, LGV Picardie is estimated to cost around €4.8 billion, with possible routing options through Amiens or Rouen. However, as of 2024, no active studies are underway for this project.