Frothy
Member
A couple of years back, a new TGV line opened in eastern France to speed up the Journey between Paris and Geneva. The line failed in its objective to get the time down below 3 hours. The line, known as the 'Ligne du Haut Bugey', previously existed as a regional line until the 1990s, when it was shut down. Re-opened as a high-speed (it's not high-speed at all, really) line in 2010, it followed the previous route pretty much exactly, and is now used for all trains between Paris and Geneva. Only one brand new station was built along the line - at Nurieux - to serve a more populated area. The new station cost 2M, and is electrified and has three platforms but is unstaffed. It was built for the TGV, but only sees one TGV calling each day in each direction, and three regional trains each day in each direction (1 on Sundays; when the line opened, it was one a day each way every day).
I just fail to see how the relevant bodies justified spending this money on a station which sees so few services and is so lightly used as a result, with only 18,500 pax in 2012. There are projects to increase the number of services, but for a new build station the service level is pitiful, and unthinkable for a new station in the UK.
Thoughts?
Photos here
Wiki article here.
Päx figure here
Train service here (link will expire on 1 May 2013)
I just fail to see how the relevant bodies justified spending this money on a station which sees so few services and is so lightly used as a result, with only 18,500 pax in 2012. There are projects to increase the number of services, but for a new build station the service level is pitiful, and unthinkable for a new station in the UK.
Thoughts?
Photos here
Wiki article here.
Päx figure here
Train service here (link will expire on 1 May 2013)