High-speed train planning in France: Lessons from the Mediterranean TGV-line

This paper explores the implementation and decision-making process in TGV projects and how these have changed, especially since the construction of the Mediterranean TGV-line. While paradoxically, this project was probably the most controversial, it is now seen as a huge success for all the actors involved.What kind of lessons can we learn from this experience? How may we evaluate the impact of this project on TGV-line planning? How can we characterize this implementation and decision-making process with regard to sustainable development challenges?The construction of the Mediterranean TGV-line was an opportunity to introduce a number of innovations - more dialogue in the decision-making process, more focus on environmental concerns, new project management and technological processes – and this is why it now appears as a showcase example of integrated sustainable development.This paper examines the different kinds of innovations developed during the TGV-Med project by using concepts from the sociology of innovation to understand how these solutions emerged in a controversial situation. Then we analyze the lessons that emerged from this decision-making process (both immediately and subsequently) and the way in which procedures evolved: creation of new tools and devices (public consultation, project management, etc.). Finally, we focus on the impact of these developments on TGV project governance. In particular, new methods of implementation and financing involved a reconfiguration of the system of actors. So the aim of this paper is to define the impact of this reconfiguration on negotiations between stakeholders.

► The TGV Med really symbolizes a decisive stage in the evolution of TGV project governance.
► The TGV Med project introduced local elected representatives, residents, and environmental concerns into the decision-making process.
► The TGV Med moved SNCF towards more structured and territorialized project management.