High speed network in Hauts-de-France Region Värnamo, 17 th May 2018
Hauts-de-France at the crossroads of the North-West Europe
High speed train approach in France In the 1980s: will to link the main cities through direct lanes / most efficient / less time / no or few intermediary stations / central node = Paris Progressively: compatibility with the classical network + high speed lines between regional cities Specificity in Northern France, in the 2000s: regional high speed trains and lines in a perimeter of 1 hour from Lille TODAY: High speed regional network as vector of territorial development, mostly for Lille (but risk of black holes in the region) / importance of the regional and local intermodality
OBJECTIVES: Objectives and means for infrastructure and transport in Hauts-de-France Efficient mobility for goods and people in the everyday life: easy, connected and environmental friendly Reinforced industrialisation of the regional territory (logistics, transports of the future rail and barges) Major maritime / river / rail hub of North-West Europe MEANS: Integrated and digital ticketing and pricing solutions for mobility and intermodality Third industrial revolution (http://rev3.fr) : smart and connected motorway A1 / supply chain management Internet of logistics / hydrogen regional trains Stakeholders governance: clusters (http://www.i-trans.org/), industries (Alstom, Bombardier), European Union Agency for Railways (http://www.era.europa.eu in Valenciennes)
Main rail projects 2 main rail projects: - Rail link Creil-Roissy Airport (horizon 2020) to bring HST to Amiens - Crossborder rail network Lille / Mining area (horizon 2030) 3 main High Speed Train (HST) stations - Lille Europe (11 million «users» / 7 million travelers in 2016) - Calais Frethun (640.000 travelers in 2016 / 670.000 in 2015) - TGV Haute Picardie (320.000 travelers in 2016 / 411.000 in 2015)
Rail infrastructure network in Hauts-de-France Importance of a secondary network to ensure the best intermodality and mobility capacities within the whole regional territory
High Speed Train railway stations in Hauts-de-France Calais-Frethun, 1993 8 km from Calais city centre / road connection / car park / coach connection to Calais city centre / rail connection to national and regional trains / close to Eurotunnel terminal TGV Haute-Picardie / gare «des betteraves» / «beets» station, 1994 Between Amiens and Saint-Quentin (45 km each) Business pole / motorway A1 / car park / coaches to the 2 cities / no secondary rail connexions
Focus on Lille Europe (EuraLille): high speed railway station as a motor of urban regeneration Strategic planning at a wide scale: 1 241 580 inhabitants (21% of regional population) + 500.000 jobs (25% of regional jobs) 98 800 hectares 1 256 inhabs / square km 133 municipalities Context: an old industrial city high unemployment rate great social and spatial disparities damaged environment engaged in a long term conversion process
Focus on Lille Europe (EuraLille) 5 main objectives (since 1992): - International opening - Accessibility - Urban quality / regeneration (urban and cultural) - Development Social / territorial solidarity Balancing & combining strategic projects, local projects, and the other public policies (transport,culture, ) strategic development schemes around 11 urban projects (including EuraLille)
EuraLille: some lessons learnt No simple cause between the achievement of the HST infrastructure and economic development Combination of context elements: - Construction of the Channel Tunnel and the North High Speed Line - Land available and local economy development strategy - Strong political support of the Mayor of Lille (Pierre Mauroy, political personnality of high importance) - Historical and economic context: ambition to put Lille in the heart of a European and international landscape
Le fonctionnement de l Union européenne: les trois principaux acteurs
Why would the High Speed connection be an asset for a territory? High Speed Railway influences more the development of existing urban regions, than develops in itself territories Facilitates existing growth >> creates new growth Initial strong investment from the regional, national and European institutions strong investment at local level (urban development) in order to improve the attractiveness of a city / region better access to jobs / to new markets for enterprises need of housings / offices AND THEN management of the intermodality flows The infrastructure / additionnal transport flows are not the proper goal, they are just consequences of an overall objective
Which are the characteristics of the city / territory pre-identified? Which criteria of attractiveness? Geography, history, socio-economy, local public strategies 1. Spatial characteristics 2. Specific resources (architecture, culture ) for urban and business tourism (short trips) 3. Sectoral specialisation: jobs structure, training offer, research and education facilities (universities ), cultural offer, quality of life (influencing the city attractiveness if commuting is well organised)
City-centre / peripheral / external location? City centre (urban regeneration) Lille Europe / Creil (in development) External location (more space / risk to be more car-oriented) TGV Haute-Picardie / Calais- Frethun in between: exemple of Reims (Champagne Ardenne TGV) Importance of the connection to the secondary (regional) trains / avoid to have too many intermediary stops Importance of urban mobility / intermodality options
The global package = urban planning + governance + communication If in the city centre: railway station as a privileged window of the city / entry door, opportunity to regenerate the city centre / intermodal access through improvement of the connections to public transport / regional trains / soft modes / roads New station = new needs of housing / offices / services (new inhabitants, new jobs) Local governance: need to coordinate public actors and citizens to prepare the arrival of the high speed trains (possible local committee) / anticipate and limit the risk of «gentrification» / property increases Marketing territorial / communication marketing campaign to make the HST arrival known in all sorts of medias Tourism strategies to accompany the process (review the signals, the way to «read» the city for external visitors)
Focus on small and medium sized-cities Comparative studies made at the EU level by the research center CEREMA Different stakes which can be contradictory: efficiency (for the global network) equity (for the territories) Accessibility (of the station) Attractivity (for the city) Opening to a EU competitive market // local and regional decision-making processes High speed lines / stations can be opportunities for the «chosen» cities / threats for others, especially if they are badly connected to the HST network Importance of the compatibility between the High Speed lanes and the classical network to be able to bring HST to central stations Close look before making a new station, especially if it is planned far away from the urban areas The HS station does not bring economic development itself, it has to be coherent with a broader territorial strategy (at a regional level) https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01186385/file/2014%20cerema%20tgv.pdf
In conclusion: the high speed train stations must not be a goal in itself but have to be thought within and for a territorial development project Thank you for your attention! Elodie Denizart EU policy officer Region Hauts-de-France / Brussels Office elodie.denizart@hautsdefrance.fr