Page 145 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

Central versus Peripheral High-Speed Rail Stations: Opportunities For Companies to Relocate?
The cases of Reims Central Station and Champagne-Ardenne Station

3. The HSR service in both stations in Reims and changes to accessibility

The East‐European High‐Speed Line, which began operating in June 2007, modified the
accessibility of the cities it served. The urban area of Reims is served by two stations: the
historic station, located in the Clairmarais district in the centre of Reims, and the new
Champagne‐Ardenne TGV station in Bezannes, a village located 7 km to the south‐west, beyond
the urbanized fringes of Reims (figure 1).

Figure 1. The two stations in Reims
Source: http://www.saisonmenu‐architectes.com/projets/reims‐pole‐urbain‐de‐l‐innovation/, modified by the authors.

Accessibility was improved by HSR at both stations, but in different ways. Similarly, although
business premises were built around both of these stations, the circumstances and realization
of these projects were different.

3.1 The accessibility’s modifications in both stations

The central station in Reims is 45 minutes from Paris by HST, with eight round trips per day
(Table 2). However, this new HSR service has led to the discontinuation of conventional rail
services between Reims and –Paris .
4

4 The launch of the HSR service has also led to increases in regular and season ticket prices. For example, when the HSR began
operating, the price of a one‐way trip from Reims to Paris was EUR 38.00 in rush hour and EUR

International Congress on High-speed Rail: Technologies and Long Term Impacts - Ciudad Real (Spain) - 25th anniversary Madrid-Sevilla corridor 143