The Paris-Lyon TGV line, the busiest high-speed link in Europe, will be completely closed from Saturday morning to Wednesday morning. Traffic will therefore experience major disruptions, particularly during the long weekend of November 11. This is due to works aimed at increasing the frequency of trains.

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The 8 p.m.

Indeed, TGV traffic will be disrupted from Friday November 8, at 11 p.m., until Wednesday November 13 at 5 a.m. The high-speed line between Paris, Lyon and Marseille will be closed for work. No TGV will run there. They will have to take the TER and Intercités line. It will take 4h30 to reach Lyon from the capital, 7h20 to go from Paris to Marseille, which is times more time than usual.

Why these slowdowns? SNCF is modernizing its entire signaling system on its oldest and busiest line. Five years of preparation, 820 million euros invested and a thousand people mobilized day and night. Objective ? Commission these new speed control stations. “We unplug the old stations and reconnect the new ones, much more modern, with computer bays.” explains Kian Gavtache, deputy general director of major projects at SNCF Réseau.

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The issue? Increase train frequency by 20%. But then, why did you choose this weekend of November 11 for the work? “We consulted with all the railway companies, SNCF Voyageurs, Trenitalia and others, and it was the weekend which represented the least impact for travelers”. It is also a way of preserving the turnover of railway companies, because the weekend is the time when business customers are at their lowest.

The writing of TF1info | Reporting Cassandre Dewaegeneire, Francesco Depaquit