It is one of the most sensitive points of the GPSO, Grand Projet du Sud-Ouest, which provides for a high-speed line between Bordeaux and Toulouse by 2030, and between Bordeaux and Dax in a second phase. The environmental footprint of the project is the subject of muscular passes, between pro and anti-LGV.
As the Ceser sums it up (Regional Economic, Social and Environmental Council) Nouvelle-Aquitaine, “this project is at the heart of contradictory issues that must be balanced”. The organization asks several questions at the heart of the debate, in particular: “The saving of time on the journey, the modal shift and the challenges of land use justify the land consumption induced, the increase in energy consumption, the destruction valuable ecosystems and hydrographic networks? “
Eight Natura 2000 sites directly concerned
In the public inquiry file, we can read that “the works will last five to seven years”, and that “the area of the right-of-way is estimated at 4,830 hectares, including 1,230 ha of agricultural areas, and 2,850 ha of forestry areas. . »Eight sites
Natura 2000 are “directly concerned, such as the hydrographic network of Gât-Mort and Saucats, or the Ciron valley”. Some 413 plant and animal species, including 197 protected, are affected by the rights-of-way. Finally, “the backfill requirements are estimated at 52 million m3, including 33 million m3 of external input. “
Figures that are strangling several environmental associations. “This is a pharaonic project, alert Philippe Barbedienne, president of the Sepanso Aquitaine, which will impact around thirty tributaries downstream of the Ciron valley, a Natura 2000 site sheltering a watercourse which has so far been miraculously preserved, and where there are very old forests, in particular a beech grove preserved in a glacial relic, dating back to 44,000 years with fossil coals. The president of Sepanso adds that wine-growing areas “will also be crossed” by the railway line.
“The environmental aspect has grown in importance”
“The GPSO program was developed from the start as a pilot program for the“ Avoid, Reduce, Compensate ”approach, defends Étienne Guyot, Prefect of the Occitanie region, coordinator of the GPSO. We have listed all the species present within a zone of 1,000 meters, and in the end the choice of routes was made to avoid as much as possible the disturbance of environments and species. Surfaces on the Natura 2000 site have thus increased from 3,880 ha in the study perimeter to 41 ha in the route subject to the public inquiry. The sensitive natural environments concerned represent less than 700 ha and the wetlands 250 ha, located in the Landes forest in particular. The project also provides for more than 500 structures to reduce its impacts and ensure hydrological and geological continuity. “
Studies that will be further refined, promises the Prefect of Occitanie. “We are going to take up the State’s commitment file, in order to define the final route finely with a view to reducing the footprint. We are at a time when the environmental aspect has taken on a great deal of importance, with a global awareness, and it is natural for public authorities to constantly adapt and refine. “
Finally, insists the prefect, “the destroyed wetlands will be fully compensated, and for sensitive areas, a pre-program provides between 1,000 and 1,500 ha of compensation, up to twice the impacted areas. “He ensures that” all the recommendations of the Environmental Authority have been addressed “before the declaration of public utility.
“We are making the climate situation even worse”
Philippe Barbedienne also underlines that “850,000 tonnes of carbon, or more than 3.4 million tons equivalent (teq) of CO2, will be released into the atmosphere, just for the creation of the line. The climatic situation is further aggravated, it is madness, and completely anachronistic. “
These emissions would, however, be offset in ten years after the line was put into service. The GPSO (by integrating the connection with Spain which is not yet included in the program) “will prevent 325,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, or 3.2 million teq over ten years” assures Etienne Guyot. The prefect is based on the fact that “for a Paris-Toulouse journey, the CO2 consumption per person is 130 kg by plane, 40 kg by car, and 4 kg by TGV”, which is moreover “the train whose he carbon footprint is the lowest: 2.4 g of CO2 per km and per person for the TGV, 8.1 g for an Intercités, and 29.4 g for a TER. »For Sepanso, it is of a “climate alibi”, in particular with regard to the cost of the project (14.3 billion euros).
The share of railways must increase by 15% thanks to the LGV
It is also necessary that the modal shift from the car, and to a lesser extent from the airplane, actually takes place towards the train. “The travel time between Toulouse and Paris by train will drop from 4:10 at present, to 3:10 with the LGV,” recalls Etienne Guyot, who adds that “the number of connections must rise to sixteen round trips per day, against seven currently, while that those between Montauban and Paris will drop from five to thirteen. “
An offer which should make it possible to increase the share of rail “in exchanges between Haute-Garonne and Ile-de-France, from 45% currently to 60%, and between Gironde and Paca, from 13% to 26 % ”Announces the prefect. Over the whole of phase 1 (Bordeaux-Toulouse and Bordeaux-Dax), the GPSO “will help avoid 4.3 million trips per year by car, and one million trips per year by plane, the TGV having to recover 20% of Toulouse-Paris air links. “
Etienne Guyot adds that the LGV will “gain a total of 7 million passengers per year”, because the TGV will also be “a train of daily life. “” More than 50% of the additional traffic will come from internal journeys in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie regions. “
New stations built outside cities
However, several associations question these forecasts. “We keep saying that Toulouse-Paris will be in 3h10, in reality it will be more often 3h30, with stops in Montauban, Agen, Bordeaux, estimates Jacques Dubos, president of the Bordeaux association Trans’Cub, specialist transportation issues. However, the switch from the plane to the train is mainly done for journeys under 3 hours. “
Member of Trans’Cub, Germain Suys notes for his part that “the new stations which will be built in Agen and Montauban for the LGV, will be 10 or 15 km from the city, which will break the interconnection with the TER, and require customers to drive there. ”
But for the prefect Etienne Guyot, these new stations represent “an additional offer which does not currently exist, and which will be extremely attractive when all the improvements are made. “In the end,” the advantages of the project are far greater than the disadvantages, “he insists. Not sure that this will calm the oppositions in the coming months.