an outbreak of sharka and a bacterial infection forcing wilt since 2003. Communication and transport The central railway station of Valence is the Gare de Valence-Ville, located just south of the town centre. The station offers connections to Lyon, Grenoble, Avignon, Gap and several regional destinations. In 2001 the Gare de Valence TGV opened along with the LGV Méditerranée, a high-speed rail line extending south from Valence to Marseille. The station is only south of the end of the LGV Rhône-Alpes, giving Valence much shorter journey times to northern destinations as well, with a journey to Paris taking 2h11. The TGV station is located 10 km northeast of the town. A bikesharing scheme called Libélo started in March 2010, offering 200 bicycles for long-term hire and 180 for short-term hire, in 18 locations around the city. Charges are collected by smart card or credit card. Road network The city occupies a key position, at the centre of the . Located on a crossroads of road networks, it is known to be a point of passage (cf. the Valence Autoroute Area) of the holidaymakers who head to the Côte d'Azur. The A7 autoroute (commonly known as the autoroute du soleil [motorway of the sun]) connects it to Lyon ( to the north), Avignon ( to the south), then to Marseille ( south). The A49 autoroute connects it to Grenoble ( to the northeast). The A41 autoroute connects it to Savoy (Chambéry and Annecy; and respectively) and Geneva (Switzerland) to the northeast (via the A49). On the other hand, relations with the cities of the Massif Central (Le Puy-en-Velay and Clermont-Ferrand) are more difficult as the roads are very winding. For example, the shortest route to reach Saint-Étienne passes through the Col de la République (ex-) at altitude. Underground project of the A7 In Valence, the A7 autoroute runs along the Rhône and thus crosses the city by cutting the river. An underground project of the autoroute up to the city is being studied. The city of Valence was cut off from its river during the construction of the A7 motorway in the 1960s. The idea is born to bury the fast axis semi-covered trenches over a distance of about . This project to bury the motorway should make the banks of the Rhône available to Valence. However, the project would not be completed prior to at least 2025. The studies, which