The LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire (LGV BPL) is a French high-speed rail line running between Connerré, Sarthe near Le Mans and Cesson-Sévigné, Ille-et-Vilaine near Rennes. Studied as early as 1996, processes towards LGV Brittany-Pays de la Loire commenced during 2005 with initial land acquisitions. Following agreements over its financing, an invitation to tender was issued by French infrastructure manager Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) during December 2008. On 18 January 2011, an RFF spokesperson announced that Eiffage had been selected as the preferred bidder for the project. After the LGV Sud Europe Atlantique, it was only the second high-speed line to be developed through a public private partnership (PPP) arrangement in France. On 27 July 2012, construction of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire officially commenced. The completed line was opened on 2 July 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron; it is operated by TGV services provided by the SNCF, France's national railway company. History Background Between 1996 and 2001, French infrastructure manager Réseau Ferré de France (RFF) conducted preliminary studies into the potential construction of a extension of the LGV Atlantique's western branch, later known as LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire. During 2005, the process of acquiring land along the intended route was started. On 30 October 2007, it was announced that the proposed line had been granted a Declaration of Public Utility, a sign of formal recognition by the French government and a necessary step for any major publicly funded construction programme in France; at the time, this envisioned line had a reported cost of around €2.5 billion and would achieve an estimated reduction in journey time of 37 minutes between Paris and Brittany over the conventional route being used at that time. The proposal also become a recognised element of France's rail expansion strategy under the Grenelle Environnement initiative. On 29 July 2008, reports emerged that the broad financing for the line's construction had been agreed between the various bodies involved. Under this arrangement, the French Government was reportedly set to contribute €990 million, which was to be matched by contributions from the regional government as well; the remaining €1.02 billion was to be provided out of RFF's own resources. By this point, it was being reported that the envisioned high speed line had an increased projected total cost of €3.4 billion, and that roughly 90 per cent of the land required for its construction had been