The TGV in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and in the French Riviera

The TGV in Provence and in the French Riviera

The train in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area

Having numerous assets is a great advantage for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area. The Provence area has a flexible working population and very innovative service industries. Its modern urbanization and the quality of its environment attract a lot of workers.

The Z 23504 TER 2N railcar in the station of La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône)

A TER 2N railcar in the station of La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône)
© tgveurofrance.com

The regional capital : Marseille

Surface : 31,399 km²

Number of inhabitants : 4,506,253, that is 7.7 % of the French population

6 departments :

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04)
Alpes-Maritimes (06)
Bouches-du-Rhône (13)
Hautes-Alpes (05)
Var (83)
Vaucluse (84)

963 municipalities :
Strong of 963 municipalities and 5 urban poles (Marseille / Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Toulon, Avignon, Cannes/Grasse, Antibes), the region is characterized also by an important network of medium-sized towns (34 including more than 20,000 inhabitants).

Economy :

2^nd national rank, after the Ile-de-France area for the rate of new business start-up in France (more than 34,000 per year)
an average of 36 million tourists a year, 2,220 hotels, 1.6 million active people
GDP: 3^rd rank of the French regions (more than 20,000 euros per inhabitant)

The station of Marseille Saint-Charles

The station of Marseille Saint-Charles
© tgveurofrance.com

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area is the crossroads of trade : 762 km of highways, 1,966 km of main roads, 1,242 km of railroads (400 regional express trains a day) and 250 km of high speed railways ("TGV Méditerranée" since June 2001).

Two new TGV stations : Avignon TGV, Aix-en-Provence TGV.

In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area, 10 stations are served by the TGV :
Avignon TGV, Aix-en-Provence TGV, Marseille Saint-Charles, Toulon, Les Arcs - Draguignan, Saint-Raphaël Valescure, Cannes, Antibes, Nice Ville and Menton.
The TGV also stops at the underground station of Monaco Monte-Carlo before reaching Ventimiglia in Italy.

In the immediate vicinity of the Principality of Monaco, the "Riviera Palace", which used to be one of the best-known palaces in the French Riviera in the 20th Century, is at the centre of the centenary celebrations of Beausoleil.

The Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur has ordered 35 AGC (Autorail à Grande Capacité) railcars made by Bombardier Transportation. 25 AGC railcars have definitely been ordered for an amount of 160 million euros.
10 TER 2N NG railcars (Z 24500 / Z 26500 series) made by Alstom Transport have also been ordered for 100 million euros. They will be added to the 30 TER 2N railcars (Z 23500 series) already in use in this region.

A TGV Réseau train in the station of La Ciotat

The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area includes two of the most important international airports of France (Marseille and Nice), the first seaport of France, the third in Europe (Autonomous Harbour of Marseille) and three multimodal international logistic platforms.

A TGV Duplex trainset in the station of Aubagne (Bouches-du-Rhône)

Frow the snowy summits of the alpine massif to the 800 km of the Mediterranean coast, the contrasted landscapes of the Provence area attracts millions of tourists.

With 1,2 million hectares of forest, its peaceful creeks and its national nature reserves (Ecrins, Mercantour, Port-Cros) and regional ones (Camargue, Luberon, Queyras, Verdon), the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur area benefits from privileged sites.

It welcomes the greatest festivals in the world : Cannes, Avignon, Orange, Arles.

The variety and the quality of its products is remarkable :
- In vine growing : 18 A.O.C. (label guaranteeing the quality of wine)
- guaranteed labels for different farm products and breeding products: olives, olive oil, lavender from High Provence, grape muscatel wine from Ventoux, rice from Camargue, apples from the Alps, lamb from Sisteron and honey from Provence.

Photos of Marseille