Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
In terms of stations? None of the TGV stations on dedicated HS lines (that I know of) are actually in town -- the only exception I know of is Lille, where the station is on HS line in town.  The TGV stops in the bigger cities : Paris, Lyon, Marseille, etc -- use historical stations and share the rails with normal trains.

The stations that serve smaller towns -- Avignon, Valence, Mâcon etc -- are new build, at least a couple of km out of town, generally not even in walking distance of the nearest village I suspect the network was designed by the taxi drivers' trade union.

hmmm I guess that means the answer is Lille (around 1 million people). Any better answers?

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Fri Sep 6th, 2013 at 04:42:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]
... not to eurogreen in particular of course ...

Because of 1m was considered enough to do that? Because Lille or its regional government front the cost? Because the alignment through Lille was more convenient than an alignment bypassing Lille?

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Sep 6th, 2013 at 03:40:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The last, I suspect: Lille de facto merged with several neighbouring cities, towns and villages and there isn't much "around" it. It's really convenient, BTW (I was there at a conference in 2010).

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Sep 6th, 2013 at 04:25:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The western branch of LGV Rhin-Rhône was supposed to go through Dijon with a tunnel, but there was no set construction date even under Sarkozy (there was one under Jospin, though).

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Sep 6th, 2013 at 04:28:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:

Occasional Series