Airport rail link opens

The 22 km Rhônexpress link between Lyon city centre and Lyons-Saint Exupéry Airport has opened. It is the first rail concession in France to link a city centre and an airport.

The € 120 million link was awarded to a Vinci-led consortium in January 2007, with construction getting underway in October 2008. Timely completion of the project allowed train services to start running, as scheduled, on the morning of 9 August.

The Rhônexpress is expected to transport more than 1 million passengers per year, with a journey time between the airport and city centre of just 30 minutes. The train will operate 365 days a year and will be managed by the consortium as part of its 30-year concession contract.

As well as the end stops along the 22 km route, there are two intermediate stations. Train speeds reach up to 100 km/h on the link.