ABSTRACT
The construction of the Lyon–Turin segment of the new European high speed rail network, first proposed in the 1990s, is one of the key projects in the European program called the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T). The aim is to connect Lyon with the Ukrainian border. In 2001, the French and Italian government sign a treaty to secure the construction of the line, and in 2004 the project is confirmed by the EU as one of the most important projects in the TEN-T. In the communications about the project, it is positioned as very important for European transport and, later, as essential in reducing the number of motor vehicles, especially heavy goods vehicles, traveling through the tunnels in the Alps. In 2007, the European Union allocates 671.8 million Euros to partly fund the tunnel over the period 2007–2013.
