The first section of the Eastern branch will run from Villers-les-Pots (to the East of Dijon) to Petit-Croix (to the South-East of Belfort). Work on this section which is scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2011, began in July 2006.
The first section of the eastern branch runs between Villers-les-Pots (to the East of Dijon) and Petit-Croix (to the South-East of
The Minister of Transport, Public Works, Tourism and the Sea, Dominique Perben, and all the other partners involved in project funding were present at the official inauguration of the line and the signature of the funding agreement on 3 July 2006.
The eastern branch in figures:
140 km of line from Villers-les-Pots (21) to Petit -Croix (90), running through forests for 40% of its length A total budget of 2.312 billion euros 85 boroughs crossed 6,000 jobs 30 million m³ of excavations (4 times the volumes excavated for the Channel Tunnel) 22 million m³ of embankment (9 times the volume of the Great Pyramid of Giza) 13 viaducts
1 tunnel 2 km in length
160 bridges 2 new stations : 1.350 million tonnes of ballast 550,000 sleepers 5,000 km of copper wire 300 km of optical fibres 380 km of OHL contact wire 6,000 OHL masts 300 km of fencing 600 km of rails 30 masts for GSM-R 63 sets of points & crossings 300 signal boards 14 signal boxes
Milestone dates for the eastern branch of the Rhine-Rhone high-speed line:
Civil engineering work began in July 2006, while work on installing the railway equipment started in January 2009.
2002 Project declared in the public interest
2005 Archaeological explorations, preparatory work, public enquiries in relation to the French Water Act, property acquisition appraisals, land acquisition, invitations to tender for civil works, forest clearance
2006 Site inauguration and signature of the first-phase funding agreement
2009 Cable artery laying (January) Re-opening of the Lure-Villersexel line (March) Opening of the works base, erection of the first OHL masts, erection of the GSM-R masts (April) Start of work on the Devecey line Laying of the first rail (June)
2010 Start of work on the Besançon sub-station (February) Start of work on the Héricourt sub-station (May)
2011 Equipment tests and trial runs (Spring) Power delivery (Summer) Line commissioning (11 December)
Eastern branch – 2nd phase
The second stage in the construction of the eastern branch consists of two sections of line to the East and West of the first section: to the West, over to the East over
Provisional schedule for the 2nd phase:
2009 Decision to launch land acquisition studies and procedures (Summer)
2010 Finalisation of property acquisition appraisals (Summer)
2012 Finalisation of property acquisitions (January)
