businesses may their see competitiveness increase as their markets expand, and tourism to the region may increase as well. This route supplements – and partly supersedes – the classic Paris–Bordeaux railway line. Details The line was built by consortium LISEA consisting of Vinci Concessions - 33.4%, Caisse des dépôts et consignations - 25.4%, Meridiam - 22.0% and Ardian - 19.2%. The consortium will operate and maintain the line until 2061, and charges tolls to train companies. The consortium invested €3.8 billion, French government, local authorities and the European Union paid €3 billion and €1 billion was contributed by SNCF Réseau (subsidiary of SNCF). Another €1.2 billion was spent by SNCF Réseau on the construction of interconnecting lines, control centres, capacity enhancements at Bordeaux and remodelling the track layout at Gare Montparnasse. The new high-speed route bypasses Libourne, shortening the total distance traveled compared to the existing route. No new stations were built between Saint-Pierre-des-Corps and Bordeaux, and service to Châtellerault, Poitiers and Angoulême uses their existing train stations, which new connections link to the high-speed rails. South of Poitiers, a connection allows trains to access the old tracks towards La Rochelle. The journey between Tours and Bordeaux is shortened by around 50 minutes. of high-speed track was built together with a further of conventional tracks that connect to the LGV. The new line is expected to increase annual ridership by about five million travellers. Phases For financial reasons, the project was initially divided into three phases: Phase 1: Angoulême–Bordeaux 2001–2003: Pre-project studies and procedures 3 February 2005 – 16 March 2005: Final public hearings Start of 2012: Construction starts 31 July 2017: In service Phase 2: Tours–Angoulême 2004–2006: Pre-project studies and procedures 2009: Preliminary works and land acquisition Start of 2012: Main construction starts 2 July 2017: In service In that initial plan, Phase 2 had to be completed on a rapid schedule to cope with the increase in traffic expected after the opening of Phase 1. For this reason the French government announced additional funding in February 2009 to build Phases 1 and 2 together. Phase 3: Bordeaux – Toulouse and Spanish border Proposed, not currently decided 2004–2005: Preliminary studies 2006: Public debate On 30 July 2010, the French government announced that work on the section to the Spanish border was expected to begin before 2020. In 2015 however, a public inquiry rejected the construction of this section due