The aim of the project is to provide towns on both sides of the border with better links to the TGV network and increase rail's share of local and cross-border transport in the region.
At present Delle is isolated from the French network and served only by terminating regional services from Switzerland, but with the restoration of the missing link the town will be served by through services from Belfort to Delémont and Biel/Bienne in central Switzerland.
The project is due to be completed by December 2017 and involves rebuilding and electrifying the single-track line, which will have six new stations including an interchange with the Rhine-Rhône high-speed line at Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station.The journey time between Belfort and Delle will be 25 minutes, while Belfort city centre will be linked to the TGV station in just 10 minutes. A 1h 43min journey time is envisaged for Belfort - Biel/Bienne services.
The project is being funded by the French region of Franche-Comté (€43.8m), the Swiss Confederation (€24.7m), the French government (€23m), SNCF Network (€4m), the Swiss canton of Jura (€3.2m) and the European Union (€3.1m), with the remainder coming from local government sources.
