The railway from Paris to Marseille is an 862-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the southern port city of Marseille, France, via Dijon and Lyon. The railway was opened in several stages between 1847 and 1856, when the final section through Lyon was opened.[2] The opening of the LGV Sud-Est high speed line from Paris to Lyon in 1981, the LGV Rhône-Alpes in 1992 and the LGV Méditerranée in 2001 has reduced its importance for passenger traffic.
At Dijon the railway turns south, running along the east side of the Côte d'Orescarpment with its famous vineyards. At Chalon-sur-Saône the railway reaches the river Saône, and follows its right bank downstream until the city centre of Lyon. Before and after the Lyon-Perrache station it crosses the Saône and the Rhône respectively, and continues downstream along the left Rhône bank. Between Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or (north of Lyon) and La Guillotière (a southern quarter of Lyon) there is a parallel line to its east, on which the other main station of Lyon, Part-Dieu, is situated. There is also a long parallel line on the right bank of the Rhône between Lyon and Nîmes, which is mainly used for freight transport.
↑Direction Générale des Ponts et Chaussées et des Chemins de Fer (1869). Statistique centrale des chemins de fer. Chemins de fer français. Situation au 31 décembre 1869 (in French). Paris: Ministère des Travaux Publics. pp. 146–160.
