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On June 18, 2026, a rather unusual train departed from Marseille’s Saint-Charles Station bound for Briançon. Its name: Alpes Express. Its goal: to demonstrate that it is possible to reach the Southern Alps in just 3 hours and 40 minutes from Marseille—more than an hour faster than current travel times.
This special service was not intended to launch a new commercial route. Its primary purpose was to demonstrate what rail service in the Southern Alps might look like in the coming years, as the 2030 Winter Olympics, to be held in the French Alps, approach.
Behind this symbolic event lies one of the most significant rail projects undertaken in southeastern France in several decades: modernizing the line to make it faster, more reliable, and more attractive to both residents and travelers.
On June 18, 2026, the Alpes Express traveled from Marseille to Briançon in just 3 hours and 40 minutes, a journey that regular TER trains currently take between 4 hours and 45 minutes and 4 hours and 50 minutes. This achievement was not made possible by a revolutionary new train, but rather by a specific operating strategy for the line and the removal of a number of constraints that usually slow down service.
The goal was simple: to show that such a travel time is by no means unrealistic and that it could become the norm if the announced investments materialize. This exceptional traffic flow therefore served both as a demonstration and as a glimpse into the future.
The Marseille–Briançon line is now one of the main rail routes to the Southern Alps. It serves cities such as Aix-en-Provence, Sisteron, Gap, Embrun, Mont-Dauphin-Guillestre, and L'Argentière-les-Écrins before reaching Briançon, France’s highest prefecture.
For local residents, this line plays a vital role in improving access and facilitating daily travel. For travelers, it serves as a gateway to the Briançonnais, the Queyras, the Guillestrois, and the Écrins National Park.
Despite its strategic importance, the line has long suffered from aging infrastructure, speed limits, and frequent delays that negatively impact travel times and service reliability.
Today, it generally takes between 4 hours and 45 minutes and 4 hours and 50 minutes to travel from Marseille to Briançon by train. The goal set by the French government, the Sud Region, and SNCF Réseau is to introduce, starting in 2030, two additional daily express round-trips capable of completing the journey in 3 hours and 40 minutes.
The time savings would therefore exceed one hour on certain routes. Beyond simply providing greater convenience for travelers, such a change would profoundly alter the perception of distances in the Southern Alps. Trips that currently require significant planning could become feasible for a weekend, a short stay, or even certain business trips.
To achieve this goal, a major modernization program must be undertaken along the entire Aix-en-Provence–Briançon corridor. Public announcements indicate more than 520 million euros in investments for Alpine transportation as part of the 2030 Winter Olympics, of which approximately 340 million will be allocated to rail.
This funding is intended, in particular, to modernize infrastructure, improve signaling, eliminate certain bottlenecks, and enhance the overall reliability of the line. The goal is not only to increase the speed of the fastest trains, but also to improve the punctuality and quality of service for all trains.
@epsilon_snaps
The Southern Alps are still less well-served by train than many destinations in the Northern Alps. Reducing the Marseille-Briançon travel time to 3 hours and 40 minutes would make the mountains more accessible to those who wish to travel without a car, whether for a weekend of hiking, a few days of skiing, or a longer vacation.
Such an improvement could also encourage more visitors to choose the train over driving, particularly from Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, or the entire Mediterranean coast.
For a long time, discussions about transportation in the Alps have focused primarily on road infrastructure. The Alpes Express tells a different story: that of a region that has also chosen to invest in rail to support its development and prepare for the future.
Even though the project has yet to be implemented, the test run on June 18, 2026, had the merit of making this goal a tangible reality. For the first time, residents and travelers were able to see that a Marseille-Briançon trip in 3 hours and 40 minutes was no longer just a political promise, but a technically proven possibility.
On June 18, 2026, the Alpes Express ran for just one day. Yet this one-time service could well mark a turning point for transportation in the Southern Alps. After all, the question is no longer really whether a Marseille-Briançon trip in 3 hours and 40 minutes is technically possible—that has already been proven. The real question now is how quickly this pilot project can be transformed into a daily service for residents and travelers. Stay tuned…
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Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
