The French State Council has approved a draft decree declaring public utility status for new high-speed lines between Bordeaux and Toulouse/Dax.
The Grand Southwestern Railway Project (GPSO) would extend the Tours – Bordeaux high-speed line, which is set to be commissioned in 2017, to Toulouse and beyond to the Spanish border.
Alain Vidal, Secretary of State for Transport, Sea and Fisheries, said the decision ‘paved the way’ for the signing and publication of the utility statement before June 8.
Phase one of the project includes two new 320 km/h lines linking Bordeaux and Toulouse and Bordeaux and Dax, which would open in 2024 and 2027 respectively. The project will fully realise the planned TGV Sud-Europe Atlantique once complete.
Phase two would see the mixed-use Dax spur extended to the Spanish border by 2032.